Ridge, David

Principal Bass Trombone

David Ridge joined the San Francisco Opera Orchestra as Principal Bass Trombone in 1992. Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, his duties with the Company include playing trombone, bass trombone, and contrabass trombone. He performs frequently with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and has also performed with every major arts organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Mr. Ridge can be heard on recordings with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. He is an active recording musician and can be heard on many film scores, video game soundtracks and commercial projects recorded at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch as a member of the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, he can be heard on the CD Trombonarama, performing Ninth Avenue Hustle for bass trombone and piano which was written for him.

Mr. Ridge has performed at many of the major music festivals in this country and abroad including the Arizona Music Festival, the Tanglewood Music Center, Colorado Philharmonic/National Repertory Orchestra, the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, the Evian Music Festival in Evian, France, the Spoleto Festival U.S.A., the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, the Carmel Bach Festival, the Ohio Light Opera Company, the Chautauqua Music Festival, the Eastern Music Festival, and the New College Music Festival.

A committed educator, Mr. Ridge is on the faculties of Sonoma State University, California State University East Bay, University of California, Berkeley, and Diablo Valley College.  He is a frequent soloist and has taught masterclasses throughout the United States. He has been a soloist and a clinician with the United States Army Orchestra, the Eastern Trombone Workshop, the American Trombone Workshop, the John Donald Robb Composers Symposium at the University of New Mexico, and the University of Southern Mississippi Trombone Day.

Mr. Ridge received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and a Professional Studies Diploma from the Mannes College of Music.