Music Addition, MA162
Craig Michael Davis is adjunct lecturer in music in general studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
An internationally known composer, conductor, and pianist from California, he travels the world performing a solo keyboard show and also with the Craig Michael Davis Ensemble, which he founded in 2015.
He earned a master’s degree in theory and composition from New York University (NYU) and a doctorate in music composition from the Jacobs School of Music.
Davis studied predominantly with Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, Jon Gibson, Lloyd Rodgers, Don Freund, Claude Baker, and Aaron Travers. Davis has had works premiered by the L’viv Philharmonic Orchestra, NYU Philharmonic Orchestra, JACK Quartet, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble, and Jacobs School of Music Wind Ensemble.
He writes for film, theater, and live performance. His theater piece, Letters to a Terrorist, recently placed in the finals of the ASCAP Young Composers Competition. Letters to a Terrorist portrays one woman’s journey and life as the wife of the leader of a terrorist organization in Algeria.
As a pianist, Davis has toured the United States and Europe, giving performances of his original works. Writing for multiple keyboards with electronic effects such as delays and loops, he often collaborates with painters and dancers to create new works that last anywhere from five minutes to five hours.
He has become increasingly in demand in writing and performing music for cross-genre collaboration venues that deal with multiple mediums simultaneously.
Davis’s work has earned a number of awards and residencies, including three ASCAP awards, 2015 Sacrarium International Composition Competition and Forum finalist, 2013 Alan A. Mannason Award for Composition, and 2012 Henriquez Award for Composition.
His music is published through Jack Harrison Publishing Co. and distributed through Davenport Records.
Davis lives with his wife, Emily, and dogs, Duke (Golden Retriever) and Hamilton (Toy Poodle), in Bloomington, Indiana.