1941 Born- 1958-1962 Composition Studies with Alexander Goehr
- 1986-1998 Resident on island of Yell, Shetland, Scotland
- 1998- Resident in Banffshire (now part of Aberdeenshire), Scotland
David Ward‘s music has been commissioned by, amongst others, the BBC, London Festival Orchestra, Edinburgh Quartet, Bingham String Quartet, Saltire Quartet, Shetland Arts Trust, Woodend Music Society, Woodend Arts, Ross Pople, Michael Beeston, Shinobu Miki, Nigel Boddice and Richard Stilgoe, with funds from the Arts Council of GB, the Scottish Arts Council, Creative Scotland, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the National Lottery as well as sponsors, subscribers and trust funds.
David has also received direct grants from the Arts Council of Great Britain, the Scottish Arts Council and Enterprise North East as well as from the Hope-Scott Trust, John Younger Trust and other trusts and foundations.
Chronological List of Published Compositions & Promotional Recordings from Live Performances and Radio Broadcasts or Studio Recordings:
| Completed | Title (click for more details) | Category | Duration | CD available? |
| 1968 | A Full Moon in March | Chamber Opera | 40 min | y |
| 1974 | The Death of Ferdia | Chamber Opera | 33 min | y |
| 1978 | Cello Concerto No 1 | Cello & Full Orchestra | 37 min | y |
| 1982 | The Snow Queen | Chamber Opera | 52 min | y |
| 1983 | Canzona | Clarinet & Piano | 31/2 min | |
| 1983 | Burlesque | Bass Trbn & Brass Band | 4 min | |
| 1984 | Variations | Cello & Classical Orchestra | 18 min | y |
| 1985 | 3 Bagatelles | Brass Band | 8 min | y |
| 1987 | Concert Overture on Themes from Jack’s Engagement | Medium Large Orchestra | 13 min | y |
| 1988 | Jack’s Engagement (revised 1996) | Opera (medium house) | 11/2 hours | y |
| 1988 | String Quartet No 1 | String Quartet | 25 min | y |
| 1989 | Beyond the Far Haaf | Mezzo, Bar, & Full Orch. | 55 min | y |
| 1989 | In Memoriam Simon | String Quartet (solo Viola) | 7 min | |
| 1990 | String Quartet No 2 | String Quartet | 38 min | y |
| 1990 | 2 Minute Caprice | Basset Clarinet Solo | 2 min | |
| 1991 | 7 Pieces | Basset Clarinet Solo | 15 min | |
| 1992 | Violin Sonata | Unaccompanied Violin | 13 min | y |
| 1993 | String Quartet No 3 | String Quartet | 30 min | |
| 1993 | Three Poems by J M Synge | Mezzo & Piano | 7 min | |
| 1993 | Three Orpheus Sonnets (Rilke) | Mezzo & Piano | 10 min | Jane Manning guide |
| 1994 | String Quartet No 4 | String Quartet | 19 min | y |
| 1995 | Timone | Opera (large house) | 2 hour | |
| 1995 | Stock Exchange Ballet (Timone) | Full Orchestra | 13 min | |
| 1995 | Clarinet Quintet | Clarinet & String Quartet | 30 min | y |
| 1995 | Entrance, Sonata & Exit | Trumpet & String Quartet | 30 min | |
| 1996 | Overture to Jack’s Engagement | Medium Large Orchestra | 6 min | |
| 1997 | Viola Concerto | Viola & Medium Orchestra | 32 min | |
| 1997 | Concerto for Viola & Piano | Reduction of Vla Concerto | 32 min | y |
| 1999 | Piano Sonata | Solo Piano | 23 min | y |
| 1999 | Songs for Patti | Mezzo and Piano | 6 min | |
| 2000 | Improvisation | Bass Trombone & Piano | 31/2 min | y |
| 2000 | Mute Play | Bass Trombone & Piano | 8 min | y |
| 2000 | Doctor Foster | Opera (large house) | 21/2 hours | download libretto |
| 2001 | Sonata Fantasia | Cello & Piano | 17 min | y |
| 2001 | Little Duet | Clarinet and violin | 4 min | |
| 2002 | String Quartet No 5 | String Quartet | 11 min | y |
| 2002 | Overture and Scena | Soprano & Medium Large Orchestra | 13 min | |
| 2002 | Cello Concerto No 2 | Cello & Medium Orchestra | 22 min | |
| 2003 | Cello Song | Cello, Hp, Keybd, Strings | 11min | |
| 2003 | Two Romances | Violin and small orchestra | 16 min | |
| 2004 | Bassoon Concertino | Bassoon and small orchestra | 11 min | |
| 2004 | More for H & S | Clarinet and violin | 2 min | |
| 2005 | Variations on a Waltz | Piano | 7 min | |
| 2007 | String Quartet No 6 | String Quartet | 20 min | y |
| 2008 | Evolutionary Metamorphoses | 23 Solo Strings | 25 min | |
| 2010 | e-mails from Palestine (1) | Voice, Trombone, Violin, Electric Violins, Pecussion | 25 min | y |
| 2011 | Sybil: a Nation Divided | Opera (large house) | 23/4 hours | |
| 2012 | Cupid and Psyche | Opera (chamber plus) | 11/2 hours | |
| 2012 | Dreaming of a Distant Love (miniature paraphrase of music from Cupid & Psyche) |
Alto Sax, Violin, Percussion, Electric Piano | 2 min | y |
| 2013 | Duo for Violin and Cello | Violin and Cello | 6 min | |
| 2013 | String Quartet No 7 |
String Quartet | 12 min | y |
| 2014 | Pleasures are Like Poppies Spread |
Mezzo and Piano | 2 min | |
| 2014 | Lukkaminnie’s Oo |
Violin and Cello | 2 min | |
| 2014 | Divertimento | Mixed Octet (similar to Schubert’s) | 25 min | |
| 2015 | The Abbot of Bingen |
Soprano Voice, Trombone & String Trio | 4 min | |
| 2016 | The Garden of the Sun |
Opera (medium house or flexible ad hoc, semi-staged etc) | 2 hours | |
| 2016 | In Memoriam Keith |
Violin & Trombone (Baroque Violin & Sckbut) | 2 min | |
| 2017 | Arias and Cadenzas |
Cello, Percussion (Vibraphone, Temple Blocks, Drum Kit) & Piano | 23 min | y CD, DVD YouTube Video |
| 2017 | There and Back |
2 Cellos | 4 min |
2018–2023 Please see the News & Links page of this web-site for details of recent compositions.
Scores, parts and libretti available from:
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