I'm a conductor myself, my father is a composer, and I have worked with many other young composers and conductors. Many times a composer either hesitates before conducting his own works, or is too eager to do so. In both cases I find that the result is not always satisfactory. Composers are sometimes more valuable as listeners and advisers during rehearsals. Standing back to observe from a distance can be more objective in these cases. Having said that, there are exceptions to this rule in past and present. And David later confirmed my suspicion that his biggest passion is composing when he told me:

"...My real passion, my life's work, I see as composing new music in the European classical/romantic tradition, or in a specifically English variant of that tradition, that is immediately beautiful and listenable for audiences, while having its own depth and not being a pastiche of music of the past. My main aim is to demonstrate that this is possible, amid a plethora of other new developments and fashions in contemporary music, many of which have little depth and probably will not stand the test of time...."

David ends his remarks talking about the future: "...in the longer term, my focus on vocal music will probably remain, as I have always been most comfortable writing for voices, and I would very much like to write an operatic work if the opportunity arose of collaborating with a suitable author."
(Please call me, David, if you need a passionate bass-baritone for your opera!)