Geoffrey Davidson (Baritone, Choral Conductor)

Born: Scotland, UK

The Scottish baritone and choral conductor, Geoffrey [Geoff] Davidson, studied at the Royal Scottish Academy Music, graduating with honours in singing and piano.

Geoffrey Davidson was for seven years a staff member of the BBC Singers touring extensively and appearing as soloist in London’s major venues working with some of the world’s great conductors. He was also a regular singer with Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s World-renowned Monteverdi Choir.

One of Scotland’s most distinguished and versatile singer/musicians, Geoffrey Davidson has appeared as soloist in virtually every European Capital as well as Poland, Scandinavia, the Ukraine, Canada and the USA where he appeared at the Lincoln Center, New York, and the Kennedy Center, Washington. He sang in several operas with Wexford Festival Opera, Scottish Opera and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and sang solo baritone in Luciano Berio’s CORO at La Scala, Milan with Luciano Berio conducting. His roles at Opera Scotland have included: Official Registrar in Madam Butterfly (1980), Sir Robert Cecil Secretary of the Council in Gloriana (1989), Guillaume Tell in William Tell (1992).

Geoffrey Davidson's countless BBC broadcasts have included an astonishing variety of music from English lute songs to works by Benjamin Britten and Robert Schumann and for 10 years he was “Star” singer in Radio 2′s “Friday Night is Music Night”. Radio 2 brought out a CD of highlights from the programme’s 50 year history and two of his tracks were included. Other highlights (with Geoff as guest singer) included a “Tall Ships Gala” from Aberdeen with Terry Wogan and a “Menagerie” evening for Radio 2 with TV “Vet” Robert Hardy.

At the other end of the musical spectrum, 2001 saw his world premiere of the baritone solo in Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s Canticum Canticorum with the Nürnberger Symphoniker and Nuremberg opera-Chorus.

For ten years Geoffrey Davidson was Musical Director of Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society, raising the standards to new heights and steering them through huge productions such as Titanic - the Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar and West Side Story. He is currently Music Director of Claxton Opera and founder and Conductor of Norwich Pops Orchestra, a local large symphony orchestra who provide stimulating concerts of Film and Light Music. Their new Year’s Day Viennese Concert with International Star singers is a fixture in the Norwich Calendar. Since October 2011 he is Director of the Aylsham Singers.

Source: Alysham Singers Website; Bits & pieces from other sources
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (July 2014)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

John Eliot Gardiner

Bass

Member of Monteverdi Choir:
C-10 (1998); BWV 63, BWV 64, BWV 121
BCP Vol. 4: CD-2: BWV 186, BWV 107, BWV 187
BCP Vol. 5: CD-1: BWV 178, BWV 136, BWV 45
BCP Vol. 6: CD-1: BWV 69a, BWV 137; CD-2: BWV 77, BWV 164, BWV 33
BCP Vol. 7: CD-1: BWV 25, BWV 78, BWV 17
BCP Vol. 8: CD-2: BWV 161, BWV 27, BWV 8, BWV 95
BCP Vol. 11: CD-1: BWV 162, BWV 180

Links to other Sites

The Choir « Alysham Singers