Sir Colin Davis

President

Sir Colin Davis is President of the London Symphony Orchestra and is also Honorary Conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle.

Early in the 2009/10 season Sir Colin visited Eisenstadt to conduct Haydn for the English Chamber Orchestra. After performing and recording Nielsen works with the LSO he went to Paris and Venice with the Orchestra National de France, conducting a programme of Berlioz. He returned to the LSO in December to perform and record Verdi’s Otello for LSO Live.

In the New Year Sir Colin went to Boston Symphony Orchestra in USA to conduct Macmillan’s St John Passion followed by a return to the LSO in London in February, also conducting the MacMillan piece. In March 2010 Sir Colin conducted Elgar in Munich with the Bayerischer Rundfunk and, in Dresden with the Staatskapelle, he performed Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius. In June Sir Colin returned to London at Covent Garden for Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, then, with the LSO, he performed Haydn’s The Seasons followed by performances in Aix en Provence.

Sir Colin Davis has recorded widely with Phillips, BMG and Erato. His recent releases with LSO Live include Beethoven’s Mass in C, Haydn's The Creation and a boxed set of Sibelius Symphonies 1 – 7 and Kullervo, the latter receiving a BBC Music Magazine Award.

Sir Colin has been awarded international honours by Italy, France, Germany and Finland. He was named a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2001. He was given the Yehudi Menuhin Prize for working with young people by the Queen of Spain in 2003. In 2009 he was awarded The Queen's Medal for Music.

During his career Sir Colin conducted the BBC Scottish Orchestra, moved on to Sadler’s Wells Opera House in 1959 and spent four years as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1967 to 1971. He became Music Director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 1971 and Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra in 1972. Sir Colin spent the years 1983–1992 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, was Principal Guest Conductor of the New York Philharmonic from 1998–2003 and has been Honorary Conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle since 1990. He was Principal Conductor of the LSO from 1995–2006.

Sir Colin Davis was born in Weybridge, Surrey in 1927.