With a career spanning 15 years, versatile guitarist David Gonzales has appeared across the U.S. as a chamber musician, soloist, and educator. As co-founder of the ground-breaking electric guitar ensemble, Ignition Duo and a former member of the renowned San Francisco Guitar Quartet, David has worked closely with many acclaimed composers to expand the repertoire for both classical and electric guitar. As an award-winning solist, David performs music spanning from the renaissance to modern periods. In addition to his broad performing experience, David is also passionate about nurturing a future generation of creative musical artists through his work as a teacher, having partnered with numerous music schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

As a co-founder of Ignition Duo, David has demonstrated a commitment to exploring new sonic territory in the realm of classical music. Ignition Duo has premiered over two dozen new chamber works, working closely with composers to write music for their unique instrumentation: two electric guitars. Ignition Duo has performed at the Spoleto festival, where it was said they “grooved, jammed, and shredded with Mozartian precision.” (The Post and Courier, Charleston). Additionally, Ignition Duo has performed at the Switchboard music festival, and has collaborated on commissioning projects with the composition department at UC Santa Barbara and the San Francisco-based Guerilla Composers Guild. Ignition Duo received a grant from the San Francisco friends of Chamber Music to record their debut album, “Ablaze Amidst the Horns,” released in 2015.

As a member of the San Francisco Guitar Quartet, SFGQ, David has toured across California, the Midwest and the South. SFGQ have been featured artists at the University of Louisville Guitar Festival, the Dayton Guitar Society, and the Knoxville guitar society, among others. As a member of the SFGQ, David helped spearhead new commissions for the group from leading young California composers.

As a first prize winner at the Society of American Musicians solo guitar competition, David has performed internationally at the Domaine Forget festival in Quebec, as well the Incontri Chittarristici in Gargnano, Italy. He has been a featured guest for the Chicago, and Ventura classical guitar societies, and has played concerts throughout California and New Mexico, his home state. David holds degrees from Northwestern University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and has studied with many of the world’s foremost classical guitarists, including Oscar Ghiglia, Roland Dyens, and David Russell. His primary teachers include Sergio Assad, Anne Waller, and Mickey Jones.

As an educator, David has mentored a young generation of musicians in California, New Mexico and Colorado. He started his teaching career as a conductor, ensemble coach and private guitar teacher at the Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico. David has gone on to teach guitar ensemble for underfunded school districts through the Music Matters program in Solano County, CA, has volunteered for the Conservatory in the Schools program, and has since given masterclasses at schools and universities throughout the U.S., including University of Louisville, Eastern Kentucky University, and the Denver School of the Arts, among others. David currently teaches privately in San Francisco.