Monte Hill Davis (May 24, 1932 – June 2, 2018) was an American classical pianist.

Concert career

Davis toured and performed in Europe, Brazil, Peru, Balzano, Italy ( the Busoni), Geneva, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany. Davis won first prize in the International Piano Competition in Munich in 1955. She won second place in the 1953

Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition The Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition is a music competition for young pianists that takes place in Bolzano, Italy. It was founded in 1949 by Cesare Nordio in memory of the pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni. History The fir ...

. Davis also performed with the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

, the Dallas Pops Orchestra directed by

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one o ...

, the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

under the direction of

Howard Mitchell Howard Mitchell (11 March 1911 in Lyons, Nebraska – 22 June 1988 in Ormond Beach, Florida) was an American cellist and conductor. He was principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra from 1949 to 1969. According to music critic ...

, and the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

Selected awards

* 1949 — Gold Medal, G. B. Dealey Memorial Award,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

(co-winner with Mary Nan Hudgins) * October 1952 – Silver Medal,

Geneva International Music Competition The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Teaching career

Davis began teaching piano at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

in 1962.

Education

Davis began studying piano when she was five years old. She appeared with the

Houston Symphony Orchestra The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, playing

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's Piano Concerto in D major, when she was nine years old. Three years later, on the recommendation of Ernst Hoffmann, she was sent to

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

, to study with Isabel and

Silvio Scionti Silvio Vittore Alberto Scionti (; born 20 November 1882; d 22 May 1973) was an Italy, Italian-born United States, American pianist and teacher. Born in Acireale, Sicily, he trained at the Music conservatories of Naples, Royal Conservatory in Naples ...

. She stayed in Denton through high school and went on to the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

where in 1952 she earned a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

in piano and in 1957 she earned a Master of Music in piano. In 1963, Davis studied piano with

Ilona Kabos Ilona Kabos (7 December 189327 May 1973) was a Hungarian-British pianist and teacher. Biography Kabos was born in Budapest in 1893 (some sources give her year of birth as 1894, 1898 or 1902). She studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music under ...

in London.

Personal life and family

In 1953, Davis returned from Europe to America to marry Jack David Alexander who, in 1962, was among the 45 crew and passengers killed in a

Continental Airlines Flight 11 Continental Airlines Flight 11, registration N70775, was a Boeing 707 aircraft which exploded in the vicinity of Centerville, Iowa, while en route from O'Hare Airport, Chicago, Illinois, to Kansas City, Missouri, on May 22, 1962. The aircraft cra ...

crash near

Centerville, Iowa Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,412 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. After ...

. It was the first known case of sabotage aboard a commercial jet airliner. Jack was a former saxophonist and advertising entrepreneur. He had studied one semester (fall 1950) at the

during which time he had playing in Lab Band directed by Gene Hall. Because of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Alexander left school to join the U.S. Army Special Service — a 3-year tour. In 1955, he was an account executive at

PAMS PAMS Productions, Inc. (an acronym for Production, Advertising and Merchandising Service), based in Dallas, Texas, was one of the most famous jingle production companies in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stat ...

. In 1960, Alexander earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

. He had also been a partner at Futuresonic Productions Inc., a producer of jingles. Monte and Jack had two daughters: Monte Ann and Katherine Lee. Davis died in Dallas on June 2, 2018.Monte Hill Davis Alexander obituary
''The Dallas Morning News'', 10 Jun 2018. Retrieved 2018-06-10.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Monte Hill 1932 births 2018 deaths American classical pianists American male classical pianists Texas classical music University of North Texas College of Music alumni Southern Methodist University faculty 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American male musicians American women academics 21st-century American women