David B. Thompson was born in Oklahoma into a family dedicated to music (his father a composer, and his mother an opera director). He studied at Indiana University with Michael Hatfield, where he received the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees with high distinction, as well as the prestigious Performer's Certificate. He was also the first hornist in 25 years to win the Brass Concerto Competition. While at Indiana, he also studied natural horn with Rick Seraphinoff, and performed with early music ensembles around the country.
His distinctions in international competitions include the first prizes of the American Horn Competition (Michigan, 1994) and the Performance Competition of the International Horn Society (Munich, 1989), as well as the Festival Prize for the Most Artistic Interpretation at the International Competition for Wind Instruments (Leeuwarden, 1995).
He has performed regularly as a soloist with orchestras in both Europe and North America, with conductors such as Christopher Hogwood, Christian Zacharias, Dmitri Kitajenko, Samuel Wong, and Franz-Paul Decker.
Since 1989, he has been Solo Horn of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and since 2008 serves as Solo Horn and Director of Chamber Music for the Navarra Symphony Orchestra of Pamplona. He has recorded extensively for Harmonia Mundi as Solo Horn of the Teatre Lliure Chamber Orchestra. In August, 2011, he will assume the position of Principal Horn with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
As a pedagogue, he has served as professor of horn at the Escuela Superior de Música de Cataluña and Aspen Music Festival and School. He has presented masterclasses and workshops at institutions around Europe, the United States, and Asia, and is the author of two pedagogical texts in widespread use: Daily Warm-Up and Workout (1994) and The Orchestral Audition Repertoire for Horn: Comprehensive and Unabridged (1995).
He is the founder and moderator of the Yahoo horn list, the largest horn-related internet discussion forum with 2700 members on six continents, and curently serves as Vice President of the International Horn Society.