David Ellis was raised in Vermont, studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston, and graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he was a student of David Soyer, cellist of the Guarneri String Quartet. He has worked with Janos Starker, André Navara, and Maurice Gendron among others.
From 1982 to 1987, Mr. Ellis played in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under conductor Leonard Slatkin, touring throughout the United States of America and Far East. In 1988 he was appointed co-principal cellist of the chamber orchestra I Musici de Montréal and in 1989 became a founding member of the Alcan Quartet.
In conjunction with his responsibilities in the quartet, Mr. Ellis is principal cellist of the Orchestre Symphonique de Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. Since 1997 he has held the position of professor of cello at the Québec Conservatory of Music in Chicoutimi, and been a visiting Professor of Chamber Music at the Université de Montréal. He given masterclasses throughout Québec and in Central America. As a member of the Alcan Quartet he plays regularly in concert throughout Canada, the United States of America and Europe.
[source: www.quatuoralcan.com]