David Allen Conway (born 17 February 1950) is a British music historian, academic and writer.

Early life

Conway was born in London. His sister was Barbara Conway who became a journalist. He was educated at

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a Independent school (United Kingdom), public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfo ...

, and studied economics and psychology as an undergraduate at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. He obtained a PhD degree under the supervision of

John Klier John Doyle Klier (13 December 1944 – 23 September 2007) was a British-American historian of Russian Jewry and a pivotal figure in academic Jewish studies and East European history in the UK and beyond. At the end of his career and life, Klier wa ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where he has been an Honorary Research

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

since 2008.Institute of Jewish Studies
University College London. Retrieved 10 May 2017

Career

In the 1980s, Conway and his Czechoslovak-born wife Nadia were elected

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s of the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London boroughs of Barnet to the west, Haringey to the south, and Waltham Forest to the southeast. To the north are the districts of Hertsmere, Welwyn Hat ...

. From 1991 to 2016, he acted as a Senior Expert for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

development aid Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: develop ...

projects in the countries of the

former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

. His 2012 book ''Jewry in Music'' was published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

. It "analyses why and how Jews, virtually absent from western art music until the end of the eighteenth century, came to be represented in all branches of the profession as leading figures – not only as composers and performers, but as publishers, impresarios and critics." The book was positively reviewed by musicologist Tina Frühauf and on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

programme ''Music Matters''. Conway is a founder and director of the music festival ''Levočské babie leto'' in

Levoča Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча) is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wo ...

, Slovakia. Since 2018 he has been Chair of the opera company

HGO Mercury(II) oxide, also called mercuric oxide or simply mercury oxide, is the inorganic compound with the formula Hg O. It has a red or orange color. Mercury(II) oxide is a solid at room temperature and pressure. The mineral form montroydite is v ...

(formerly Hampstead Garden Opera). In the academic year 2019–20 Conway was a Polonsky

Visiting Fellow In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

. He contributes to journals including ''

Slavonic and East European Review ''The Slavonic and East European Review'', the journal of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (University College London), is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Slavonic and East European Studies. It was establ ...

'', ''The Wagner Journal'' and ''

Jewish Renaissance ''Jewish Renaissance'' is a quarterly cultural magazine, founded in October 2001, covering Jewish culture, arts and communities in Britain and beyond. It is edited by Rebecca Taylor, a former News Editor at '' Time Out London''. Scope and con ...

''.

Publications

Conway's publications include: *''Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner'' (2012). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . *"A New Song" in ''The Cambridge Companion to Jewish Music'', ed. Joshua Walden (2015). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . * "The Real Faust: Heine's Faust Ballet Scenario 1846–1948", in ''The Oxford Handbook of Faust in Music'', ed. Lorna Fitzsimmons and Charles McKnight (2019). Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * "Spontini's Complaint", in ''Judaism in Opera'', ed. I. Schmid-Reider and A. Cahn, Regensburg: Conbrio Verlag (2017)..''Judaism in Opera''
Conbrio Verlag. Retrieved 29 June 2017

References

Notes Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, David 1950 births Living people Writers from London British music historians Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Alumni of University College London People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School Historians of Jews and Judaism Conservative Party (UK) councillors Councillors in Greater London