David Beaman
David Beaman studied violin, piano and composition at The Purcell School
before going on to The Royal College of Music where he studied conducting with Neil Thomson. He studied at the Canford Conducting Course with George Hurst and most recently with Denise Ham, Royal Academy of Music.
David was appointed principal conductor of Symphonia Academica in 2003.He has also conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra Strings, King's Chamber Orchestra, the Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra, the Aylesbury Festival Chorus, the Endellion Winds and the University of Luton Choiras well as commercial sessions for television, radio and cinema.
David has much experience in music for screen. He has played on numerous film and TV scores and appeared on many TV programmes. He appeared in the movies Shine and Four Feathers. He is an experienced composer and arranger, having worked on several TV commercials for ompanies such as Lancia, St Ivel, Eurostar and Jameson.
He has recently been busily involved in education projects and workshops for Symphonia Academica and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
As a pianist David has played both as soloist and accompanist in the UK and in Russia.
His love of piano accompaniment has proved invaluable in conducting concerti and other solo works, which he particularly enjoys.He became a violinist with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the age of 23 and has also played with the RPO and the Halle as well as with countless pop musicians.
“…The session was extremely successful, and the principal reason for this was the excellent work which David contributed. Despite workingunder significant time restraints, we completed a recording of the Concerto in a three hour session, including all the necessary retakes. David was calm, confident and professional throughout, and dealt well with the challenge of getting the best out of the musicians: both in terms of a clear conducting style and in matters of interpretation. I would like to add that this is the quality which I most admired about David's work: faced with a new composition he showed an acute and mature grasp of the detail of the score, delivering a highly perceptive reading of the work….”
Lyndon Jones, Senior Producer, BBC Wales.
“…He has worked with school and college students with enthusiasm, imagination and care. He is sensitive to the needs of young musicians,and thorough and conscientious in his preparation. He has been a reliable and committed member of our workshop teams both as player, presenter and conductor. The breadth of David's musical knowledge and skill, and his versatility in a range of situations and learning environments, equip him admirably for the varied tasks he has willingly embraced in our learning programme …”
Peter Hayward, Learning Manager, BBC CO.
“…it was my pleasure to have David conduct a composition of mine with the string ensemble “ Symphonia Academica ”. His considered and thoughtful method of tackling this new work, along with his genial and skilful way with the ensemble, led to an extremely successful performance…”
Martin Ward, Composer.
