Hilary Davan Wetton

Veteran conductor Hilary Davan Wetton established and led numerous prominent choral and instrumental groups over several decades. He continued working well into his later years, holding the post of musical director with the City of London Choir and serving as associate conductor of the London Mozart Players through the 2020s.

Born on December 23, 1943, Davan Wetton studied at Westminster School before proceeding to Oxford University, where he completed both bachelor's and master's degrees. Throughout much of his professional life he devoted attention to the musical training of younger performers, acting for a time as director of music at Cranleigh School, St. Paul's Girls School, and Tonbridge School while also guiding several British youth orchestras. In 1968 he assumed leadership of the Guildford Choral Society, a role he maintained until 2008. He created the Milton Keynes City Orchestra in 1975 and remained its principal conductor until 2007, later retaining ties as conductor emeritus. He likewise established the Holst Singers, directing the ensemble from 1978 until 1992 and producing a series of acclaimed recordings for the Hyperion label that began with the 1989 release Holst: The Evening Watch and Other Choral Music.

Davan Wetton has additionally directed opera for Britain's Travelling Opera, overseeing stagings of Mozart's Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro, Bizet's Carmen, and Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well as ballet for France's Ballet du Nord, including a choreographed presentation of Mozart's Requiem, K. 626. His institutional affiliations include conducting the orchestra of the Birmingham Conservatoire between 1983 and 1987, serving as professor at the Guildhall School of Music from 2011 to 2013, and holding the position of music associate at Somerville College, Oxford, from 2015 to 2018. Remaining productive in advanced age, he issued numerous recordings on Hyperion and Naxos before issuing a 2023 album of Vaughan Williams works with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on the Resonus Classics label.