Dr. Nelson was on the music faculty at Cerritos College for over 25 years. Now retired, he devotes his time to composition, writing, and performance. After completing a Ph.D. in music theory/composition at the University of California Santa Barbara in 1980, David worked in a variety of institutions, ranging from the secondary level to college and university.
Over the last 35 years, Dr. Nelson has composed numerous works, including symphonies, tone poems, choral pieces, chamber music, music for film, popular music, incidental music for plays, and computer generated music. Many of these have been performed. The performance by the Reno Pops of the orchestral tone poem Little Bighorn in 2018 was well received. Recently he completed a two-hour Requiem for full orchestra and chorus, as well as three musicals, Haight, L.A. Vida, and The Fitzsimmons Diary. All three of these musicals have been fashioned into the eBook format and are available online. Over the years David has received commissions from University of California at Riverside, University of Alaska at Juneau, Cerritos College, Truckee Tahoe Community Chorus, and the Sonoma Valley Chorale. Dr. Nelson's most recent compositions include Fanfare for the Distant Horizon, Cry of the Wind, Variations on a Theme by Paganini, String Quartet No. 3, Nocturne No. 1, L'Adieu, and the Truckee Historical Revue.
Outside of the classical music realm, David has substantial experience in commercial music. As a member of many bands, he has played guitar, pedal steel guitar, and violin in “The Changing Times”(with Stevie Nicks), “Wanted”, and “Dave Phelan and Maverick”.
Dr. Nelson currently lives in Northern California where he pursues his musical as well as environmental interests.