Ken Davies

composer, arranger, orchestrator
songwriter, sound engineer
Retired january 2025

Mississippi composer Ken Davies has had concert, acoustic and electronic works performed across the USA, Canada, and United Kingdom. His commercial work has included records and nationally broadcast  television for which he wrote or arranged, conducted, and managed the  music recordings.

His concert music has appeared on numerous new music festivals such as the Society of Composers, Electroacoustic Barn Dance, Southeastern Composers League (he is a past president), Electronic Music Midwest, International Trombone Festival, International ClarinetFest, International Double Reed Society, National Association of Composers USA, Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers, New Music on the Bayou, Parma Music Festival, London New Wind Festival (UK), and Sonic Coast (UK).

His music has been performed by luminous soloists and ensembles including trombonists Charlie Vernon, Ben McIlwain, Jonathon Warburton, Jacob Elkin, clarinetists Scott Humes, Sarunas Jankauskas, oboist Richard Kravchak, hornists Virginian Thompson, James Boldin. Pianists Chialing Hsieh, Rebecca McNair Calissi, Brent Schloneger, organist Christopher Wicks and others, orchestra conductors, Eric Crawford, Travis Jürgens and others.

Awards include the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Performing Arts Fellowship for Composition (3 times), The American Prize National Finalist, the Mississippi Music Teachers’ Association’s Commissioned Composer Of The Year, and winner of the American Trombone Workshop National Composition Competition.

His music studies were at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Yale School of Music, Middle Tennessee State University at Murfreesboro (MA trombone), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (Effinger Fellowship) (MM composition). A writer and publisher member of ASCAP, his music is published by Kenvad Music which was successfullly managed by his  wife, Judy, until her death in 2024.

A native of Wisconsin, he settled in coastal south Mississippi in 2002. In late 2020, macular degeneration impacted his vision leaving him unable to read without significant magnification. His hearing declined and distorted during that period. Attempts to make a cochlear implant work proved futile.

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