David Corkhill

Biography

David Corkhill is well known throughout the UK and the world as a distinguished chamber musician, orchestral player, conductor, composer and arranger, and for a large part of his busy musical life he has held concurrent Principal positions in both the Philharmonia and the English Chamber Orchestra.

During this varied career he has worked closely with many eminent composers including, most notably perhaps performing and recording many of Britten's works under the composer's baton including his Violin Concerto and the opera The Turn of the Screw. Subsequently Britten wrote a specially composed timpani and percussion part to his cantata Rejoice in the Lamb for David and incorporated ideas from that into the timpani part of his opera Death in Venice, in the first performances and recording of which David participated.

Amongst his engagements as soloist and chamber musician have been performances of Panufnik's Concertino for Percussion with Evelyn Glennie, a series of Stockhausen's important works, and performances and two distinguished recordings of Bartok's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion: the first with Vladimir Ashkenazy and his son Vovka, followed by an invitation from Sir George Solti to perform, film, and record for CBS the same work with himself, Murray Periah, and Evelyn Glennie, a recording that won a coveted Grammy award.
    
Alongside these achievements David has become equally well known as a conductor, working with orchestras in many of Europe’s musical centres including Zurich, Vienna, Milan and Amsterdam, and elsewhere from California to South Africa. He directed the Philharmonia during the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester and conducted for Angela Georgiou in the presence of The Prince of Wales, as well as conducting the LSO in a masterclass with Sir Colin Davis. His recording of William Walton's Façade with Southbank Sinfonia in collaboration with Kit and the Widow is the first of the new Walton Critical Edition.

In between times David continues as a busy composer and arranger: he has recently completed the score of incidental music for the University of Southern California's production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, and 2011 saw the Italian and UK premieres of his St. Francis for ensemble and narrator, commissioned by Southbank Sinfonia.

As well as teaching timpani, conducting and orchestral studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama David is an active chamber music coach and holds fellowships at the Guildhall and the Royal Academy of Music. He is also Musical Director of Orchestra of the Arts (resident at St Mary-le-Bow in the City of London), Staff Conductor at the Guildhall School and Assistant Conductor and Chamber Music Co-ordinator of Southbank Sinfonia.