The music of composer David Dies has been described as having a "sensitivity to subtle shades of timbre, exploitation of spare textures...and predilection for a certain ceremonial austerity that evokes ancient, remote, or hieratic ritual” (American Record Guide on agevolmente). His music has also been described as “sometimes dissonant, sometimes lyrical, and always hugely inventive” (Wisconsin State Journal on Sketches for String Orchestra).
Dies’ music has been performed on three continents and many cities, notably in London, New York, Chicago, Lima, Peru, Lenox, Massachusetts, Oberlin, Ohio, by nationally and internationally recognized performers, including pianist Christopher Taylor, sopranos Mimmi Fulmer and Judith Kellock, bassoonist Marc Vallon, and cellist Jakub Omsky, all of whom performed on the 2011 Albany Records release, agevolmente: chamber music of David Dies. In 2013, several of Dies’ works were featured on “Live on WFMT” in Chicago, performed by mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley and the Anaphora ensemble. Dies’s setting for mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley of Rilke’s stunning “An die Musik” was premiered in Chicago in February 2016. 2018 saw the premiere of a new oboe concerto, alchemy/transmutation/translation, for Adam De Sorgo and ensemblenewSRQ in Sarasota, FL.
In 2015, Dies was the subject of a composer portrait at the York Spring Festival for New Music at the University of York, England. In 2013, Dies’ music was featured on “Live on WFMT” in Chicago, performed by mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley and the Anaphora ensemble. The 2011 Albany Records release, agevolmente: chamber music of David Dies, includes performances by pianist Christopher Taylor, sopranos Mimmi Fulmer and Judith Kellock, bassoonist Marc Vallon, and cellist Jakub Omsky and was described in American Record Guide as having a "sensitivity to subtle shades of timbre, exploitation of spare textures...and predilection for a certain ceremonial austerity that evokes ancient, remote, or hieratic ritual.”
In September 2022, David Dies joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse as Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition.