How do you describe a person who, in a single solo cello concert, can cover Bach, the blues, Brazilian and African music, and slow-moving fluid sonic meditations? Whose five solo albums and appearances with the likes of Bobby McFerrin, Spyro Gyra, the Paul Winter Consort, Arlo Guthrie, Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai represent nearly every musical genre and every conceivable way a human can communicate via stringed instrument? Whose recent credits include collaborating on the musical scores for works by European film makers Jean-Luc Godard and Wim Wenders? And whose unconventional, playful teaching style has helped open the world of music and improvisation to thousands of people?

"Maverick cellist" is the phrase most often assigned, but it hardly captures the richness, diversity, breadth and sense of humor of David Darling--a man who literally has redefined the way the cello is played and the way music is taught.

Darling is a classically trained cellist who began his career as an elementary and secondary school teacher and conductor of band and orchestra, specializing in cello and bass. He later taught music and served as orchestra conductor and faculty cellist at Western Kentucky University. In 1969, he joined the Paul Winter Consort, an extraordinarily progressive band for its time whose sound blended jazz with Brazilian, African, Indian and other world music--and at times even the voices of animals.

Since he left the Consort in 1978, he has dedicated himself to a solo performing and recording career, and to teaching music and improvisation. In 1986 he co-founded Music for People, a non-profit educational network that teaches and fosters improvisation as a means of creative self-expression. Through Music for People workshops, trainings, and special events, Darling has reached thousands of people.

For the past 10 years, Darling has also worked for Young Audiences Inc., a National Medal of the Arts award-winning organization dedicated to enriching children's lives by providing in-school programs in the form of classroom workshops, artists' residences and performance programs.