David Cohen was born in 1980 in Tournai, Belgium, into a family of musicians and started to play the cello when he was seven. In 1991 he won First Prize in the Young Soloist Competition and First Prize with Distinction in the Senior and the Junior international Competition in Wathrelos, France. He then went to the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles. In 1994 David joined the Yehudi Menuhin School for four years, thanks to a grant from the Menuhin Foundation, before going on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Oleg Kogan.

David has won more than 25 international prizes and awards, including first prize at the Audi International Competition in 1995 and the International Cello Competition in Douai.

David began an international career as a soloist aged just 11, performing with the Flemish Orchestra of Brussels, the Orchestra from Grenoble and the Polish Philharmonic Orchestra under Lord Menuhin’s direction, and in 1996 he toured England and Scotland with the Symphonia of Warsaw. In 1997 he had a masterclass with Mstislav Rostropovich and after listening to David, Rostropovich asked him to play in his cello sextet. The same year he was also offered a tour in Germany with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. David has also appeared at several international cello festivals including Kronberg (Germany), Manchester, Cambridge (UK), Beauvais (France) and the Gstaad Festival (Switzerland).

David was appointed Principal Cello of the Philharmonia Orchestra in March 2001 (the youngest cello principal ever) and currently teaches at the Royal Conservatoire de Musique de Mons in Belgium.