Peter Maxwell Davies

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is one of the leading composers of his generation. After early study at Manchester University, he pursued additional compositional study with Goffredo Petrassi in Rome and as a Harkness Fellow at Princeton University under Roger Sessions and Earl Kim. He has written hundreds of works in nearly every form which have and continue to be performed around the world. He was, for many years, the artistic director of "The Fires of London", a virtuoso chamber ensemble specializing in the performance of musical theatre works. His best known composition ("Eight Songs for a Mad King" (1969)) was written for this ensemble. He began writing orchestral music extensively in the late 1970's and the 1980's and 1990's have produced a huge number of orchestral compositions: including 8 symphonies, concerti, cantatas, and many other shorter orchestral works. He has received countless honors for his work including a knighthood. His work in film consists of two film scores for director Ken Russell.