Recently praised for his 'musical brilliance' (Seen and Heard International), Joe Davies is a Conductor working around the UK. He is Musical Director of the UK Proms in the Park Orchestra, Canterbury Symphony Orchestra, Midland Concert Orchestra, Leamington Sinfonia, Coventry & Warwickshire Youth Orchestra, and Ripieno Players, an Assistant Conductor for the English Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Director of the Cumbria Opera Group. Previous MD positions include Worcester Philharmonic Orchestra and Contemporary Music East Midlands (CoMA), both 2019-24, while recent and future engagements include the National Schools' Symphony Orchestra, Nottingham Symphony Orchestra, Oxford University Orchestra, Winchester Symphony Orchestra, and the City of Southampton Orchestra.
In 2016, Joe founded the Cumbria Opera Group to bring world-class opera into Cumbria. His opera credits with the group include Mozart's Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte, Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and John Blow’s Venus and Adonis. Joe was Artistic Director of the Cumbria Opera Festivals 2021 and 2023, involving artists such as Roderick Williams OBE and Joan Rodgers CBE. His other MD credits include Bernstein's Candide at the Oxford Playhouse. Joe has conducted premieres of works by Howard Skempton, Alex Ho, and Martin Bussey, while his dedication to new music has seen him create global composition competitions for the Worcester Philharmonic and Leamington Sinfonia. Concerto collaborations include Jess Gillam, Laura van der Heijden, Xhosa Cole, Clare Hammond, and Harry Baker.
Joe graduated with a First Class Degree in Music from St Peter’s College, Oxford, where he was awarded the Paul and Fiona Geddes Award for Academic Excellence and conducted the Oxford University Chorus, the Oxford University Symphonic Band, and the Choir of the Wesley Memorial Chapel. He then studied Orchestral Conducting at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, graduating with Distinction, where he studied under Michael Seal (Associate Conductor, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra). Joe's success at the Elgar Festival 2023 Conducting Masterclass led to invitations from Kenneth Woods to Assist projects with the English Symphony Orchestra, and Joe continues to work with this orchestra throughout the UK.
Download Joe's CV here.