Archibald Thompson Davison

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Archibald Thompson Davison (October 11, 1883 – February 6, 1961) was an American musicologist, conductor, composer, and teacher. He is best known for editing The Historical Anthology of Music in two volumes, with Willi Apel.

Davison was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied at Harvard University, earning a PhD in 1908. He became the first faculty conductor of the Harvard Glee Club, steering it from 1912 to 1933.

Under his leadership, the Glee Club grew from a small, informal group into a serious choir that toured the United States. It performed a wide range of music, from Renaissance sacred and secular works to folk songs and modern pieces. The group also helped introduce modern French choral music by composers like Poulenc and Milhaud, and began regular collaborations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra with the Radcliffe Choral Society, a partnership that lasted for decades.

Davison believed in both artistic quality and education. He expanded the choir to involve more students and improve performance practice. While some critics questioned the new style, the choir’s dual purpose remained clear, and it became a top training ground for future conductors and music professionals.

Davison also wrote music in his early years, though his own compositions are not widely performed today. He did create arrangements that became popular, such as an arrangement of Webbe’s Glorious Apollo, which the Harvard Glee Club performed regularly. Davison died in Brant Rock, Massachusetts.