Don is originally from Holywood Co. Down. He was educated at Bangor Grammar School, studying flute with Margaret Young. He was a member of the Ulster Youth Orchestra and the Irish Youth Orchestra. He went on to study music and modern history at Queen`s University Belfast where he played in the university orchestra and the Harty Wind Quintet.
After graduation he worked as a freelance flautist teaching in the Belfast School of Music , Ulster College of Music as well as teaching privately in Grammar schools in Belfast and North Down.
In 1991 he moved to Enniskillen , Co. Fermanagh where he still lives today , working as a senior woodwind peripatetic tutor for the Western Area Music Service of the Education Authority of Northern Ireland.
In the recent past Don has been the principal conductor of the Western Sinfonia Orchestra, Fermanagh Choral Society and Enniskillen Light Opera Company. He is currently the Musical Director of Sligo Concert Band and the Fermanagh Concert Band.