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Oliver Davis

b. 1972

British

Summary

Oliver Davis graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1994 and has since established himself as a preeminent composer for ballet, film & TV, and the concert hall. His albums on Signum Records have consistently charted highly in the UK Classical Charts and achieved regular airplay, notably on Classic FM and New York radio station WQXR.

Davis released his debut album ‘Flight’, recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and soloist Kerenza Peacock, in March 2015 to critical acclaim. Since then, he has released four more albums on Signum Records: ‘Seasons’ (October 2015), which included Anno, Davis’ contemporary take on Vivaldi’s Quattro Stagioni; ‘Dance (2016)’, ‘Liberty’ (2018) and 'Arcadia' (2019), all recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Many of these albums have been Featured Album of the Week on Classic FM. 

Davis’ compositions are in high demand in the ballet world, featuring on the international stage with renowned ballet companies such as New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, at prestigious venues including Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, and London’s Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio.

Since 2017, Davis has collaborated numerous times with prolific choreographer and Ballet Met Artistic Director Edwaard Liang. The Infinite Ocean, their first work together, premiered at San Francisco Ballet’s Unbound Festival in April 2018 with a specially commissioned score by Davis. ‘Constant Light’ was their next collaboration, for Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. In September 2019, they premiered a new work at New York City Ballet’s prestigious Fall Fashion Gala, which featured costumes designed by fashion icon Anna Sui. Davis and Laing are currently collaborating on a new work to be premiered by Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Biography

Oliver Davis graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1994 and has since established himself as a preeminent composer for ballet, film & TV, and the concert hall. His albums on Signum Records have consistently charted highly in the UK Classical Charts and achieved regular airplay, notably on Classic FM and New York radio station WQXR.

Davis’ debut album ‘Flight’ (2015) was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra with soloist Kerenza Peacock and quickly rose to number 2 in the UK Specialist Classical Charts with 5 Star reviews in both the UK and US. It was chosen as Featured Album of the Week on Classic FM and broadcast daily on the station. Several pieces from the ‘Flight’ album were used by choreographer Ma Cong for a new ballet for the Tulsa Ballet Company in Oklahoma, USA.

Davis’ second album ‘Seasons’ was released later that same year and featured Anno, Davis’ contemporary take on Vivaldi’s Quattro Stagioni. ‘Seasons’ also charted in the UK top 10 and was Album of the Week on Classic FM and in the Mail on Sunday. Davis’ third album ‘Dance’ (2016) was recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road studios and became Classic FM’s Album of the Week, also featuring in their ‘Best of 2016’ show. Various pieces from the ‘Dance’ and ‘Flight’ albums were used by emerging choreographer Peter Walker in his new ballet Dance Odyssey for New York City Ballet. Following the ballet’s premiere in Jan 2018, The New York Times described Davis’ music as "charming, lyrical, Arcadian”. 

Davis’ fourth album ‘Liberty’ (2018) reached number 1 in the iTunes Classical Chart and was also Classic FM’s Album of the Week. Music from the album has proved popular with choreographers internationally, featuring in Peter Walker’s ballet ‘Morpheus’ for the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, Germany; in Matthew Neenan’s ballet ‘Bacchus’ for Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, USA; and in Kit Holder’s ballet ‘Stems’ for the Birmingham Royal Ballet, UK.

In 2017 Davis was commissioned by San Francisco Ballet to write a new score for The Infinite Ocean, a ballet choreographed by Edwaard Liang, the first of many collaborations between the two. The ballet premiered as part of SFB’s Unbound Festival in April 2018 and has since toured to Washington DC’s Kennedy Center and London’s Sadler’s Wells. It featured in SFB’s 2020 Dance Innovations programme and was released on Davis' album 'Arcadia' in 2019.

In 2019, Davis and Liang also collaborated on 'Constant Light', a ballet for Ballet West’s Choreographic Festival that premiered in May in Salt Lake City, Utah. In September 2019, they premiered a new work at New York City Ballet’s prestigious Fall Fashion Gala, which featured costumes designed by fashion icon Anna Sui. David and Laing are currently collaborating on a new work to be premiered by Pacific Northwest Ballet.


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Discography

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