Biography

Dan Watson is a freelance musician living and working in Birmingham.

Raised in the picturesque setting of Snowdonia, North Wales, Dan studied saxophone from the age of 14, and went on to undertake formal musical training at Birmingham Conservatoire, under Andy Tweed, Chris Gumbley and Naomi Sullivan. He also took part in an Erasmus exchange scheme with the National University of Music in Bucharest, Romania.

Whilst at Birmingham Conservatoire, Dan took to a very strong interest in conducting, and subsequently this interest quickly evolved into a major aspect of his musical activities. He began conducting the Birmingham Conservatoire Saxophone Choir in 2006, and since then has prepared and performed a number of cutting edge student composition premieres, in commuter concerts, competitions and series' such as the New Generation Arts festival and the Frontiers Plus festival.

Recently, together with co-Artistic Director Stephen Willey, Dan formed Thumb, a contemporary music group dedicated to the performance of new music by fresh and upcoming composers in the Midlands, in addition to the performance of existing cutting edge music which is already established in the repertoire. The first projects undertaken by Thumb were a collaboration with Mobius Dance Company in the Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry; and a performance of Mark-Anthony Turnage, Release. Dan is continuing to act as Conductor-In-Residence within Thumb, as this ensemble is quickly gaining a reputation as a commissioner of new music, and an exciting new act on the scene in Birmingham.

Upcoming conducting projects for Dan include his orchestral debut with Eroica Camerata (see upcoming concerts), a performance of Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3 (soloist, Lindsey Shakeshaft) and further exciting projects with Thumb.