David Davies (11)

David Davies was brought up in Snowdonia, North Wales, and has enjoyed a somewhat unusual career. Drawn by music at an early age, David was educated bilingually up to the age of 16 and, following a chance meeting with Alastair Sampson, organist at Eton College, he won a sixth form scholarship to Eton. He was awarded additionally a Music Scholarship there, together with prizes in performance, and, after two very rewarding years, David gained the organ scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford. In addition to accompanying the College Chapel Choir, and touring with them to Japan and the USA, he began to train as a choral and orchestral conductor. David studied organ with John Wellingham, Nicolas Kynaston, Jacques van Oortmerssen, Gerre Hancock, Dr Martin Jean and Thomas Murray, and has received coaching from Marie-Claire Alain, Olivier Latry and Peter Hurford. As a choral conductor his mentors included Ralph Allwood, Grayston Ives, Robert Lehman and Marguerite Brooks. He studied piano with Peter Melville Smith and Dr Dorian Leljak.