David Heyes studied double bass with Laurence Gray and Bronwen Naish and later at the Royal College of Music in London. He completed his post-graduate studies in Prague with Frantisek Posta (Principal Double Bass, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra). He has given recitals and masterclasses in 13 countries over the past few years and has been a juror at a number of international competitions, twice as chairman.

David has been Specialist Double Bass Tutor at Wells Cathedral School for 17 years and received a prestigious award from the David Walter Charitable Trust of New York for his pioneering activities as a soloist, teacher, publisher and commissioner of new music for double bass. He works with composers throughout the world and is particularly interested to expand the double bass repertoire, by commissioning new works and by rediscovering forgotten ones. Over the past 30 years he has commissioned more than 500 works, from beginner to virtuoso, and from one to twenty basses.

David has transcribed more than 200 works for double bass, many published by Recital Music, and in recent year has also composed a number of original works for double bass which have been performed in Britain, America, Spain, Turkey and Czech Republic. David is self-taught as a composer and his music has been described as lyrical and accessible, but certainly of the 21st-century.

'No Man's Land' for double bass and piano was composed to commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War and in memory of David's grandfathers, both of whom fought in the conflict. The simple chordal accompaniment is reminiscent of a repeated tolling bell against which the solo line plays a poignant melodic line of yearning loss. A hint of gunfire eventually falls away into a repeated two note pattern which gradually fades away into nothingness.

"When I was writing the piece I had a picture in my mind of the devastation of No Man's Land in front of me, in black and white, and the stillness and silence are depicted by the slowly moving chordal accompaniment. The solo double bass is almost an onlooker or observer who comments, with both sorrow and anger, at the sheer waste of human life and the brutality of 'a war to end all wars', and still we don't learn."

'No Man's Land' was premiered at St Thomas Church (Mamhead, Devon) on 13 June 2014 by David Heyes (double bass) and David Haines (piano).

'No Man's Land' received its American premiere on Monday 1 December 2014 at Black Mountain Center (Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA) by David B. Teague (double bass) and Kathy Wallace (piano).

"No Man's Land is a brilliant piece." [Nick Merriam]

No Man's Land for solo double bass and double bass quartet was created in 2018 and premiered at the Purcell School (Bushey, Hertfordshire) on Sunday 15 April 2018 with Jan Cowell as the solo double bassist.