David Dean Mendoza was born in El Paso Texas. He learned to play piano at age 7 and viola at age 10. At age 16 he was struck with the desire to compose. While in high school he performed not only in his high school orchestra, but local youth orchestras as well. He went on to study viola and composition at Florida State University earning his BM in composition (2003) studying under Ladislav Kubik and Mark Wingate. While at Florida State he also took advantage of learning Early Music with Pamela Andrews, Chinese Music with Haiqiong Deng, Korean Music with Andrew Killick, and Balinese Gamelan with Michael Bakan. Looking for a more progressive learning environment, he decided to study at Florida International University with Orlando Garcia. While there, he has exclusively played music of the last fifty years and expanded his compositional skills earning his MM in 2008. As a composer, he writes acoustic, electronic, and electro-acoustic music, and his works have been accepted for performance at the following adjudicated festivals: The Florida Electro-Acoustic STudent (FEASt) Festival (Florida International University), CHASM Festival (Florida State University), All Florida SCI Student Composer Symposium (University of South Florida, and the 2008 SCI Student National Conference (Ball State University). In addition, he has collaborated and premiered work in Buenos Aires Argentina at the famous Teatro Colón. As a performer, he plays mostly his own music, but has been a member of new music ensembles both at Florida State University and at Florida International University. He has also had the opportunity to perform in the 2006 International Alliance for Women in Music Congress, 2006 and 2007 Subtropics Experimental Music Festival, and in the 2008 SCI Student National Conference.