Described as "a man of the theatre with whom directors love to work; he is good with singers; he knows the British opera world like the back of his hand.
Parry was educated at Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music in London.
[4] He continued conducting studies with Sergiu Celibidache in Spain, covering a wide repertory: "I did a lot of Beethoven Ninths....a lot of Spanish contemporary music, too, quite a lot of Handel..I even did the Spanish premiere of Britten's Peter Grimes..."[4] and subsequently served on the conducting staffs of the Dortmund Opera, Opera North and Glyndebourne, and became Music Director of English Touring Opera from 1983 to 1987.
The latter include the works of composers such as Vincenzo Bellini (La straniera where "David Parry leads the LPO in a gripping account of a tricky piece"),[5] Gioachino Rossini, Giovanni Pacini, Simon Mayr, and Saverio Mercadante.
Of his recording of the latter composer's Emma d'Antiochia, one critic wrote: Critical reaction to a recording of a rare Rossini opera, Ricciardo e Zoraide is instructive: In 1992, he founded the Almeida Opera Festival and remains the Artistic Director.