Profile: Lt. Col. RN Chris Davis OBE, BA (Hons), MMus DMA LRAM

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Davis will be talking about his career and time aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia - at the Flavel on 18th October 14.30

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Davis has had a fascinating musical career, which began when he joined the Royal Marines School of Music at the age of sixteen. Training was tough but fun, and after completion, he was soon appointed to the Royal Yacht Britannia in August 1978, as a young musician. 
"From the age of sixteen I knew that performing music was something that I wanted to do. I heard a Royal Marines Band play at Eastley Barracks in Portsmouth, and I was hooked!'
This period onboard, which was to last for eight years, began with a Western Isles cruise and included two Royal  Honeymoon cruises, and trips to Australia, USA, Canada and Mexico.
"In 1983 on a Royal Yacht trip to the west coast of the USA, the Queen hosted a banquet for the celebrity A-list in San Fransisco, and a certain Frank Sinatra was on the guest list. After dinner, we were asked to provide a backing orchestra for the great man to perform in front of the Queen and her guests. As a young musician I was completely in awe of the great man, and the twenty minutes just flew by...a wonderful experience and something I will never forget."
In 1987, Chris returned to the Royal Marines School of Music to attend the Bandmaster's course, in which he excelled, gaining an LRAM, and receiving the Worshipful Company Silver Medal for his high achievements.
He returned to the Royal Yacht in 1989, which gave Chris the opportunity to try to realise his dream of becoming a Director of Music.
"I love playing, but I also love getting others to perform music as an ensemble. As a conductor you don't make a sound, you have to get others to create the sound scape, through gesture and leadership."
Chris married Helen Draycott in 1990 - she was a member of the horn section of his local brass band.They now have two children, Jamie and Sarah, who both have musical interests.
After gaining a degree, undergoing more training and experience as Director of Music with the Band of the Royal Marines in Scotland, Chris was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2002, and he assumed the position of Commandant of the Royal Marines School of Music and Principle Director of Music, where he remained for seven years, retiring in 2009. His legacy was that he refocused the sights of the Band Service on embracing civilian music through the commissioning of a new repertoire of contemporary wind band music.
In retirement, Chris had some spare time alongside his music, and the head of a local junior school asked him to help with a young child who had behavioural issues, and so he got involved on a one-to-one basis.
"The child's problems stemmed form a pretty serious lack of parenting; he was angry, had no self-esteem or confidence, he didn't fit in. After a year of working at the various issues and showing him that I trusted him and was interested in his world, the school was able to turn him around."
The professional term for this development strategy is Emotional Literacy Support: helping children to recognise, understand and manage their emotions to bring about positive changes in their behaviour and social conduct. Chris now volunteers at an inner city school in Southampton, providing ELSA support.

If you would like to hear Chris talk about his amazing career, click here to book tickets:

http://theflavel.org.uk/TheFlavel.dll/Bookings?Booking=TSelectItems.waSelectItemsPrompt.TcsWebMenuItem_0.TcsWebTab_0.TcsPerformance_2337214.TcsSection_926694