Introductions

....See I'm cluttering up this nice clean blog already!

I thought it would be useful to introduce myself properly.
So Hi!

I'm Chris Davis and i'm a musician, composer and creative bloke from Solihull, a town in the West Midlands, UK. A bit of a potted history about me:

I studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and have since worked as a musician, composer, arts manager, music teacher, workshop leader, musical director, event executive and have also had brief flirtings with the worlds of retail and research. I am currently employed as Special Projects Manager with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra but continue to write and perform music alongside this work.

I have written 3 stage musicals: "Rose" a full length original musical written with long-standing friend and collaborator Kris Byrne which premiered in Birmingham in 2006; "Extra" a children's musical, also written with Kris Byrne, and commissioned by Hatchford Brook Junior School; and "Cinderella - The Musical" commissioned by Fresh Start Theatre Company and premiered in 2002.
I've also written music for the screen with film scores for: "Gift" (Big Theme Productions / Chris Palmer - 2005) and "Out" (Gary Davis - 2006) both written with Kris Byrne; a score for Brian Harley / Short Night Films' "Egg" (2008); and work on a television pilot for the comedy show "Life is Life" (Joe Kay - 2007).
Away from stage and screen, I've written instrumental and choral works - highlights include: "Shall I Compare Thee" a setting of the Shakespeare sonnet, commissioned by Elmdon Choral Society and later recorded by The Heart of England Singers; "Winter Oratorio" commissioned by Halesowen Choral Society and premiered in 2007; "Chronology" a CD concept album written with Kris Byrne; "ConFusion" written for saxophonist (and brother) Mike Davis; and "My Heart Leaps Up" written for Elmdon Choral Society.

As a musician (drums / percussion) I have worked with artists and ensembles varying from Welsh National Opera and The Lindsay String Quartet through to S Club 7 and countless musical theatre productions. I'm currently the percussionist with Straight On Red a contemporary jazz ensemble, and also perform regularly with many other bands and ensembles.

I'll post some pictures and videos of my previous work over the coming days. Watch this space!

Until then....