H. Frederick Davis, 91, former Utah conductor, composer and teacher, died June 13, 2000, at his home in North Hollywood, Calif.
Mr. Davis, who conducted the Swanee Singers, the Temple Square Mission Choir, the Salt Lake City Opera Company and the Salt Lake Philharmonic Choir, lived in Salt Lake City from 1936 to 1950. He had resided in California for the past 40 years.
Many prominent musicians, including Dorothy Maynor and Ezio Pinza, performed with the Philharmonic Choir during Mr. Davis' tenure with the group. Under his direction the choir gave the first complete performances in Utah of Verdi's "Requiem" and Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" as well as Bach's "Mass in B Minor." In Utah he organized and conducted the Greek Orthodox Church Choir.
In California he organized and directed the Southern California Mormon Choir, which presented Handel's "Messiah" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion before Christmas each year. Mr. Davis directed the choir for 28 years and had been honored by nearly every prominent musical organization in California as well as the City of Los Angeles and the state.
Mr. Davis was a member of the American Society of Composers and Conductors, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the California Federation of Music Clubs and the Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service Committee. Also, he was conductor of the Ellis-Orpheus Club, the longest continuing men's chorus in Los Angeles.
Funeral services will be held at 12:30 p.m. Monday, June 19, in the North Hollywood LDS Ward chapel, 11022 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood. Friends may call from 11:30 a.m. until time of the services. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery, Burbank.