Ellis, David

All Works

Born in Liverpool, Ellis studied at the Royal Northern College of Music from 1953-7, a significant period in British music, for among his fellow students were Maxwell Davies, Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr and the pianist John Ogdon, who together formed the Manchester New Music Group. It was at this time that his compositions gained recognition, not only through performances but also in the form of commissions and awards: the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize, the Royal College of Music Patrons’ Award, the Theodore Holland Award, the Royal Manchester Institution Silver Medal, the Ricordi Prize and a Gulbenkian Award.

From 1964, he worked at the BBC, initially having responsibility for BBC Philharmonic Orchestra programmes and subsequently as Head of Music, BBC North, until 1986, when he became the Artistic Director and Composer in Residence of the Northern Chamber Orchestra.

Apart from performances by many organisations in the U.K., his works have been played with considerable success in Canada, the U.S.A., Israel, Portugal, Denmark, Australia and throughout Europe in more recent years.