David Corkhill is one of the U.K.'s most familiar musical figures, both on the concert-hall platform and in the recording studio.

He began his adult musical life at London's Royal Academy of Music with a broad musical grounding as a pianist and harpsichordist together with the french horn, and graduated as a timpanist and percussionist. These studies and facets of performance became the basis of his conducting studies at the Academy under Professor Maurice Miles, and for which David was awarded the Ricordi Prize.

David's early years as a professional musician included work with many distinguished musicians - David Munrow, Philip Jones, John-Eliot Gardener, and Karheinz Stockhausen amongst many others - and in 1988 he received a much coveted Grammy® award for his chamber music work with Sir Georg Solti, Murray Periah and Evelyn Glennie. And it was with the music of Benjamin Britten during the time spent at the Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk that David developed a special interest and expertise. There he took part in many historical performances of Britten's works, including the chamber opera The Turn of the Screw under the composer's baton, and in the opera-ballet Death in Venice, the timpani part for which was written for David. These and other close collaborations enabled him to gain unique insights into the composer's style, and he uses this understanding to give his performances of Britten's works a special authenticity and authority.

As a player also, David was honoured in 1995 by an invitation from Sir Georg Solti to be a founding member of his World Orchestra for Peace in a historical performance in front of World leaders to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the  founding of the United Nations.

But much more than this, David's broad experience in all fields of music making enables him to be equally at home directing ensembles of contemporary music, period instrument performances, grand opera, or the mainstream 19th century orchestral repertoire. Recent performances, for example, have included an outstanding Le Sacre du Printemps with the Symphony Orchestra of London's Guildhall School of Music, widely regarded as the years' orchestral highlight; highly acclaimed fully staged performances of Puccini's La Boheme; a continuing project of Bach Cantatas performed as an integral part of the weekday evening services at London's historical City church of St. Mary-le-Bow; a concert performance of excerpts from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with the celebrated South African soprano Elizabeth Connell; performances of Mendelssohn's complete incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Shakespeare play; and an evening of William Walton's music for the Laurence Olivier film of Henry V with actors speaking excerpts from the Shakespeare original, and acting out the drama.

Amongst his varied work with many ensembles David has most notably conducted the English Chamber Orchestra (including a U.K. tour with John Williams playing Concierto de Aranjuez), the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, the Jersey Chamber Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, and ensembles from the Philharmonia Orchestra including one for Maestro Christof von Dohnanyi at the Zurich Tonhalle, Vienna's MusikVerein and at La Scala, Milan, as well as directing the Philharmonia during the 2007 Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester Cathedral. He has also deputised in rehearsal for Yvgeny Svetlanov, assisted Sir John-Eliot Gardiner, conducted for Angela Georgiou in the presence of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, and has worked with Pierre Boulez in the preparation of his works. More recently David was invited by Sir Colin Davis to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra in a masterclass, and last year saw the release of his recording, in collaboration with 'Kit and the Widow', of David Lloyd-Jones' new critical edition of William Walton's Facade ("...impeccable playing under the direction of David Corkhill").

David is Musical Director or Orchestra of the Arts, resident at St. Mary-le-Bow in the City of London.