Sir Andrew Davis, CONDUCTOR LAUREATE

Sir Andrew Davis has served as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Lyric Opera of Chicago since 2000. He was named a vice president of Lyric’s Board of Directors in May 2011. Maestro Davis is Conductor Laureate of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (having previously served as Music Director from 1975–1987), Conductor Laureate of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and former Music Director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Sir Andrew serves as Artistic Advisor to the Besançon International Music Festival and is president of the jury for that festival’s 52nd International Competition for Young Conductors. 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, operatic, and choral worlds. In 1992, Maestro Davis was named 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.