David Manson is a trombonist, composer, improvisor, presenter and music technologist. His degrees include a doctorate from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He began his performance career with positions in the Florida West Coast Symphony Orchestra and Memphis Symphony Orchestra. He taught low brass and jazz studies at Indiana State University from 1983-89 before returning to Florida. He has been soloist and composer with the BONK New Music Festival, Subtropics New Music Festival, Society of Composers and  SEAMUS. He has performed and recorded with Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Eugene Chadbourne, Davey Williams and other innovators

David is a recipient of Artist Fellowships in music composition from the Florida Arts Council (1999 & 2005), a Fulbright-Hays project in Turkey, an artist feature in the Southern Arts Federations JazzSouth radio program, and grants from Meet The Composer. He worked with Cecil Taylor at the Atlantic Center for the Arts and was artist-in-residence at the Sound Arts Workshop in Miami. David served eight years on the board of the Pinellas County Arts Council (1995-2003) and is a composer-in-residence with the Moving Current Dance Collective and federal education project Studiopeace. David directs the EMIT series of adventurous music at the Salvador Dali Museum and recipient of awards from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Chamber Music America and ASCAP. David is also former director of the Tampa Bay Composers' Forum (1995-2003). Through EMIT and the Composers Forum, David has presented over 200 concerts of new music in Pinellas County. David is also a founding developer of the MIRA (Music Industry/Recording Arts) program at St. Petersburg.

David currently writes for and performs with avant-jazz group Fluid Motion (with Sam Rivers), Brazilian groups O Som Do Jazz, brass quintet Glorious Brass, as well as Zappa repertoire band Bogus Pomp. His most recent release is "Infinita Bossa", a recording of Brazilian music by his group O Som Do Jazz. He also directs the Helios Jazz Orchestra, resident ensemble at SPC.