Biography:
Steven D. Davis is director of bands and wind ensembles, professor of conducting, Conservatory large ensembles chair, opera conducting faculty, and conductor of the Conservatory Wind Symphony at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. He coordinates the graduate program in wind ensemble conducting and oversees all aspects of the UMKC band program. Davis is the founding director of the UMKC Wind Band Teaching Symposium, one of the country's largest conducting workshops. He is conductor of the Youth Symphony of Kansas City's Symphony Orchestra and newEar, Kansas City's professional contemporary chamber ensemble. Davis has served as a conductor at the CBDNA National Convention, Midwest Clinic, MENC National Convention, and the Festival of New American Music. He has also conducted numerous summers at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp. As a committed advocate for music education, he has been a guest conductor and teacher at state conferences, and honor band and orchestra festivals in 37 states. He has appeared as a guest artist at the most significant conservatories in Bangkok and Chang Mai, Thailand; Lisbon, Portugal; and Beijing, China. Davis has been invited for residencies and conducting symposiums at major institutions such as the Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, Michigan State University, University of Colorado, University of Georgia, and Florida State University, among others.
Davis is fervently committed to performing new repertoire, and this commitment has been praised by prominent contemporary composers including Leslie Bassett, Robert Beaser, Chen Yi, Michael Colgrass, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Osvaldo Golijov, Stephen Hartke, David Lang, James Mobberley, Narong Prangcharoen, Bernard Rands, Paul Rudy, Steven Stucky, Frank Ticheli, and Zhou Long. He has received dedications for more than 30 commissioned works.
Davis is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association and currently serves as the College Band Directors National Association Southwest Division president. At UMKC, he has been awarded the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Artistry and Scholarship Award. In 2014, Davis will lead the UMKC Conservatory Wind Symphony as a featured ensemble at the Beijing Modern Music Festival and the Tianjin May Festival.
