NEWS

William D. Davis

Albert Christ-Janer Award 2006

William D. Davis, Professor of Music, is a world-renowned bassoon performer who has created an imaginative and popular body of compositions for the instrument. Although the bassoon is not typically associated with solo performance, Davis has established an international reputation as a solo recitalist and as a soloist performing with a range of orchestras and concert bands. While his repertoire includes music from the last four centuries, his most widely recognized contribution is to the field of new music. As a composer, Davis has produced works for many instrument and vocal combinations, including solo and ensemble works for bassoon. His superb bassoon performance ability gives him a “hands-on” advantage when composing for this instrument. He uses avant-garde techniques integrated with musical textures that possess interest and clarity. The outcome has been an important contribution to the contemporary music repertoire. He has performed on four continents and is also a recording artist with works released on eight compact discs.