President
Sir Colin Davis, CH, CBE
Sir Colin first found wide acclaim when he stood in for an ill Otto Klemperer in a performance of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni at the Royal Festival Hall in 1959. A year later, he stood in for Thomas Beecham in similar circumstances in Mozart's The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne.
In 1960 he made his American debut as a guest conductor with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and in 1967 he conducted Britten's Peter Grimes at the New York Metropolitan Opera. In 1967 he became Principal Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, a post which he held until 1971, when he succeeded Georg Solti as Principal Conductor at the Royal Opera House, remaining there until 1986.
He was Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1972 to 1984, and Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1992. In 1990 he was made Honorary Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden, and from 1998-2003 he was Principal Guest Conductor of the New York Philharmonic.
In 1995 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra; he held this post until 31st December 2006 and became the Orchestra's President on 1st January 2007.
Sir Colin has enjoyed a long affiliation with Philips Classics, recording works by Berlioz, Mozart, Sibelius (the complete symphonies), and many others. He has also recorded over 30 discs for LSO Live, including works by Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Britten, Beethoven, Holst and Walton.
He was made a CBE in 1965, was knighted in 1980, and in 2001 was made a Companion of Honour for his services to music.