Born in 1944 in Hertfordshire, England, Maestro Davis studied at King’s College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar before taking up the baton. His diverse repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary, and his vast conducting credits span the symphonic and operatic and choral worlds. In addition to the core symphonic and operatic composers, he is a great proponent of twentieth century works including those by Janáček, Messiaen, Boulez, Elgar, Tippett and Britten.

With the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Davis has led concerts at the London Proms and on tour to Hong Kong, Japan, the US, and Europe. He has conducted all of the major orchestras of the world from the Chicago Symphony to the Berlin Philarmonic to the Royal Concertgebouw, and at opera houses throughout the world including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala and the Bayreuth Festival.

Maestro Davis is also a prolific recording artist. He has recorded for Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics International, Capriccio, EMI and CBS, performances. New releases in 2007 include the Beethoven Violin Concerto with violinist Min-Jyn Kim and the Philharmonia Orchestra on the Sony label, a CD of operatic favorites on the Decca label-featuring soprano Nicole Cabell, Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 and Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 with pianist Yundi Li and the Philharmonia Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon.

In 1992, Maestro Davis was created a Commander of the British Empire for his services to British Music, and in 1999 he was made a Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours List. In 1991, he received the Royal Philharmonic Society/Charles Heidsieck Music Award.