Born into a family that has musical backgrounds, David Manuhutu studied classical piano from five years old until he was seventeen. His career as a professional musician began at the time when he was in high school. He had an opportunity to study with one of the best jazz pianists in his hometown. Ever since, he has already played in numerous events and many renowned jazz festivals such as Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, Ubud Jazz Festival in Bali, Shanghai World Expo in Shanghai, International Ngayogjazz Festival in Jogjakarta, Singapore Wine and Jazz Festival in Singapore, and others. He also won the Grand Championship at the Singapore International Performing Arts Junior Championship.

 

He also had a great opportunity to touring with the Grammy Award Winner Oran Etkin in Indonesia and also played with Grammy Nominated Guitarist David Becker at Ambon Jazz Festival, thus his talent has attracted the attention of many jazz musicians in Indonesia. No doubt that he has been labeled as the “Indonesian Young Lion” by foremost Indonesian jazz media.

 

He received the North American Tour Scholarship, which allows him to have the excellent opportunity of studying at Berklee, one of the best music colleges in the world. Shortly after finishing his study at Berklee, he decided to move to New York City and continue pursuing a master's degree at New York University with a full scholarship. He was very fortunate to have great mentors while he was in New York, such as Adam Rogers and Peter Bernstein, two living jazz legends, who supported him in making his first album. It was later released in February 2017 by the Indonesian Label called Demajors.

 

Currently, David is living in Jakarta, Indonesia and he is regularly playing, recording, teaching, producing, and also touring all over the country and all over the world. His most recent album that was released in 2018, “Journey to the Magical Islands”, has successfully bridged two cultures and music traditions. David took his studied expertise in western music, especially Jazz, and integrated it with his musical tradition roots. David and his friends took the diversity of Indonesian culture especially in music and improvised it melodically with the tradition of Jazz.

 

He was also nominated for 3 categories in AMI Awards in his work with Indro Hardjodikoro Project and has also been touring nationally, such as with the Grammy Award Winner Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Indonesian pop legend Andre Hehanusa, etc.; as well as internationally, such as in Japan, Singapore, etc. His work as a music producer on “Terima Kasih Cintamu” has also been selected as the theme song for a Malaysian TV series that is set to be released in 2022.