Sir Colin Davis collects Queen's Medal

Sir Colin Davis was presented with Her Majesty’s Medal for Music for 2009 by the Queen on 8 December at Mansion House. The conductor also performed for the Queen with the LSO, of which he is President.

The award was presented for the first time in 2005, and Sir Colin is its fifth recipient. It is given to an individual or group of musicians judged to have had a major influence on the musical life of the nation. These have included Sir Charles Mackerras (2005), Bryn Terfel (2006), Professor Judith Weir (2007) and Kathryn Tickell (2008).

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen’s Music, chairs the music committee which decides on the nominations for the award. Sir Peter commented not only on Sir Colin’s ‘work as a conductor and ambassador of classical music at the highest possible level’, but also ‘his involvement with the musical education of young people, making classical music a vital contribution to their development as whole human beings’.

The other music committee members are The Lord Moser, William Lyne, Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Richard Morrison, The Hon. Sir Humphrey Maud and Michael Berkeley.