Founder, Artistic Director & Clarinetist
“At the centre of my work is curiosity: what can happen when remarkable musicians, composers and audiences are brought into the same musical conversation.”
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About
David Rowden is a Sydney-based clarinetist and artistic leader whose work brings together performance, collaboration and the creation of new music.
For more than two decades, he has performed throughout Australia and internationally, earning praise for his “superb technique and artistry” (Limelight) and for playing of “great tonal beauty and sensitivity to melodic contour” (Sydney Morning Herald).
David is the founder and Artistic Director of Omega Ensemble, one of Australia’s foremost chamber music organisations. Under his leadership, Omega has commissioned and premiered more than 100 new works, collaborating with composers including Nico Muhly, Christopher Cerrone, Caroline Shaw, Elena Kats-Chernin, William Barton, Lou Bennett and Carl Vine.
His commitment to living composers also led to the establishment of CoLAB: Composer Accelerator Program, which supports emerging Australian composers through intensive mentorship, professional commissions, performance, recording and publication opportunities.
Omega Ensemble’s contribution to Australian music was recognised with the 2024 APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for National Luminary – Organisation. In 2026, GIFT – Our Breath of Life, created with William Barton and Omega Ensemble, received the AIR Award for Best Independent Classical Album or EP.
As a performer, David has appeared at venues and institutions including the Sydney Opera House, City Recital Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, Royal Albert Hall, The Juilliard School and Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music. His collaborators have included William Barton, Emma Matthews, Paul Meyer, Nico Muhly, Dimitri Ashkenazy and Timo-Veikko Valve, and his performances are regularly heard on ABC Classic.
David’s recordings include Mozart – Munro – Palmer, released internationally through ABC Classic and Universal Music Australia; Unexpected News, created with Nico Muhly and Omega Ensemble; and the AIR Award-winning GIFT – Our Breath of Life. In 2020, he performed the digital world premiere of Gordon Kerry’s Clarinet Quintet from the Sydney Opera House.
A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music, David received the Geoffrey Hawkes Prize for Clarinet Performance in 2004. In 2016, he was appointed an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of his contribution to the profession.
“phrased the clarinet part with great tonal beauty and sensitivity to melodic contour”
Listen & Watch
GIFT – Our Breath of Life
William Barton and Omega Ensemble
2026 AIR Award — Best Independent Classical Album or EP
Unexpected News
Music by Nico Muhly
David Rowden and Omega Ensemble
Mozart – Munro – Palmer
Featuring Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, Ian Munro’s Songs from the Bush and George Palmer’s It Takes Two
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“superb technique and artistry”
Artist Endorsements
David is an endorsed artist with F. Arthur Uebel and D’Addario Woodwinds. He performs on F. Arthur Uebel Zenit 24K Mopane clarinets and D’Addario Reserve Evolution reeds.
“I am proud to perform on the new D’Addario Evolution reeds and thrilled to join their family of artists. D’Addario’s incredible consistency and evenness of sound over the entire register of the instrument stands them apart from any other reeds on the market.”
“There has certainly been no room for error in these extraordinary instruments opening the artist up to a world of colour and possibility.”
Contact
For performance, recording, collaboration and media enquiries:
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