British string player David Adams is notable in that he plays violin and viola with equal enthusiasm. He is also broadly active as an orchestral musician, a conductor from the violin, and a chamber player. Adams' father was principal violist with the venerable Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. Adams and his wife, professional cellist Alice Neary, have served as joint artistic directors of the Penarth Chamber Music Festival at Penarth Pier in South Wales. Adams studied at Chetham's School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, then moving to the U.S. for further work with violinists Daniel Phillips and Zvi Zeitlin. Adams played with several European orchestras and then became leader of the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was especially active as a chamber music player during this period, on both violin and viola. He was a member of the Ovid Ensemble and the Raphael Ensemble, and he made guest appearances with other leading British chamber groups including the Nash Ensemble, the Hebrides Ensemble, and the Gould Piano Trio. With the latter group, he recorded a cycle of the Brahms piano quartets for the Quartz label. Adams has appeared with various groups at the Winchester Festival, Leeds International Chamber Music Series, and Cowbridge Music Festival, among other summer venues. After performing with the London Bridge Trio as a guest violist, he was invited in 2017 to join that group on violin. The mid-2010s also saw a move for Adams to the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, where he became leader; he has not only performed in operatic productions but played (and led) concertos with that group. After serving as a tutor in violin at the Royal Northern College of Music, Adams moved to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in the same position. Among the instruments Adams plays is an 1840 Betts viola formerly owned by his father.