Don Davis (composer)

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Don Davis

| image = Don Davis in 2017.jpg

| caption = Davis in 2017

| birth_name = Donald Romain Davis

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|2|4|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Anaheim, California, U.S.

| instrument =

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Composer
conductor
orchestrator

}}

| genre = {{flatlist|

}}

| years_active = 1979–present

| label = Varèse Sarabande

La-La Land Records

Albany Records

| associated_acts = {{flatlist|

}}

| website = {{URL|http://www.dondavis.net/}}

}}

Donald Romain Davis (born February 4, 1957) is an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator known for his film and television scores. He has also composed opera, concert and chamber music. He has collaborated with well-known directors including the Wachowskis, Ronny Yu, and Jonathan Hensleigh in genres ranging from horror, to action, to comedy.

His most notable compositions were scores for Beauty and the Beast (1988), My Life and Times (1991), Lies Before Kisses (1991), A Little Piece of Heaven (1992) and seaQuest 2032 (1995), A Goofy Movie (1995), Bound (1996), House of Frankenstein (1998), Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), House on Haunted Hill (1999), and Behind Enemy Lines (2001), and most notably The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Animatrix (2003), and The Matrix Revolutions (2004).

Davis has been nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, winning in 1995 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. He has also won four BMI Film Music Awards.

Early life and education

Davis was born on 4 February 1957 in Anaheim, California. He began playing trumpet and piano at the age of nine, and started writing music at twelve. As his affinity for music grew, so did his aspirations, and soon he was composing and arranging orchestral charts for local jazz ensembles that he also performed with.{{Cite web |title=Don Davis {{!}} Yamaha Artists |url= https://www.yamaha.com/artists/dondavis.html |access-date=2024-06-16 |website=www.yamaha.com}}

After graduating from high school, Davis enrolled at UCLA. He continued his study of musical composition with tutor Henri Lazarof. Additionally, he learned orchestration from Albert Harris.{{cite book |last1=McCandless |first1=Greg |last2=McIntyre |first2=Daniel |title=The Craft of Contemporary Commercial Music |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-39686-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ra41DwAAQBAJ&q=%22Don+Davis%22+composer&pg=PA237 |access-date=January 29, 2020 |language=en}}

Career

During their orchestration lessons, Harris introduced Davis to the TV composer Joe Harnell, who supported Davis during his search for work—his first job was working for composer Mark Snow's TV show Hart to Hart. He has worked as an orchestrator and conductor for Michael Kamen, Alan Silvestri, James Horner, and Randy Newman.{{Cite web |title=Don Davis - film composer |url=https://www.mfiles.co.uk/composers/Don-Davis.htm#google_vignette |access-date=2024-06-16 |website=www.mfiles.co.uk}}

Davis has nominated seven times at the Primetime Emmy Awards, winning in 1995.{{cite web |title= Don Davis Emmys Awards & Nominations |url= https://www.emmys.com/bios/don-davis |publisher=Television Academy |website= emmys.com |access-date=26 October 2024}} He received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for Beauty and the Beast (1988), and for My Life and Times (1991). He received a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) for Lies Before Kisses (1991), and A Little Piece of Heaven (1992), and House of Frankenstein (1998). He was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in 1994 and 1995 for scores in SeaQuest DSV, winning in 1995.

He wrote scores mostly for television series up until 1995, in which he wrote a few of the cues for the animated Disney motion picture A Goofy Movie (1995).{{cite web |title= Don Davis |url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/don_davis |website= rottentomatoes.com |access-date=26 October 2024}} He continued to score television series until the two then young directors, the Wachowskis, hired him to score their neo-noir film Bound (1996). Davis has composed scores for films such as Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), Hulk (2003), House on Haunted Hill (1999), and Behind Enemy Lines (2001).

In 2004, he produced the music score for the BBC science fiction documentary series Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets, released as Voyage to the Planets and Beyond in the United States. Davis' magnum opus is the Matrix franchise: The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2004), and The Animatrix (2002). It was set apart from other film scores of its time for its atonality and avant garde style of composition, with influences from polytonal minimalist works by John Adams and cluster-like as well as aleatoric techniques prominent in the works of composer Witold Lutosławski.

In addition to orchestrating and conducting his own scores, Don Davis has done orchestration work for many other composers. He was the conductor for the movie Flowers in the Attic, whose score was composed by Christopher Young, and for the TV documentary Eagles: Hell Freezes Over. He arranged music for The 86th Academy Awards as well. He is also regular orchestrator for Randy Newman.

Don Davis' political opera, Río de Sangre, premiered at the Florentine Opera Company on October 22, 2010. Excerpts of the opera had previously been performed in Los Angeles with the Los Angeles Master Chorale on November 6, 2005, and the New York City Opera on May 13, 2007.

Personal life

Davis currently splits his time between Southern California and British Columbia, Canada. He has been married to Megan MacDonald since 1986, and they have two children together.

Filmography

= Film =

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Director(s) ! Notes
1984 \| Hyperspace \| Todd Durham \|
1988 \| Blackout \| Doug Adams \|
1991 \| Session Man \| Seth Winston \| Short film
1992 \| Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation \| Various \| Composed with Steven Bramson, Bruce Broughton, Albert Lloyd Olson, Richard Stone, Stephen James Taylor & Mark Watters
1994 \| A Little Tailor's Christmas Story \| Allan Rich \| Short film
1996 \| Bound \| The Wachowskis \|
1997 \| Warriors of Virtue \| Ronny Yu \|
1998 \| The Lesser Evil \| rowspan="2" \| David Mackay \|
rowspan="4" \|1999 \| Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying \|
The Matrix \| The Wachowskis \|
Universal Soldier: The Return \| Mic Rodgers \|
House on Haunted Hill \| William Malone \|
rowspan="5" \| 2001 \| Antitrust \| Peter Howitt \|
Valentine \| Jamie Blanks \|
Jurassic Park III \| Joe Johnston \| Jurassic Park Theme by John Williams
The Unsaid \| Tom McLoughlin \|
Behind Enemy Lines \| John Moore \|
rowspan="3" \| 2002 \| Long Time Dead \| Marcus Adams \|
The Animatrix \| Various \| Composed with Machine Head & Photek
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever \| Kaos \| {{N/A}}
2003 \| The Matrix Reloaded \| The Wachowskis \|
rowspan="2" \| 2004 \| The Matrix Revolutions \| The Wachowskis \|
Mighty Times: The Children's March \| Robert Houston \| Documentary short
2006 \| The Marine \| John Bonito \|
rowspan="2" \| 2007 \| The Good Life \| Steve Berra \|
Ten Inch Hero \| David Mackay \|
rowspan="2" \| 2017 \| Tokyo Ghoul \| Kentarō Hagiwara \|
A Symphony of Hope \| Brian Weidling \| Documentary film
2018 \| Beyond the Sky \| Fulvio Sestito \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Director(s)

! Notes

1984

| Hyperspace

| Todd Durham

1988

| Blackout

| Doug Adams

1991

| Session Man

| Seth Winston

| Short film

1992

| Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation

| Various

| Composed with Steven Bramson, Bruce Broughton, Albert Lloyd Olson, Richard Stone, Stephen James Taylor & Mark Watters

1994

| A Little Tailor's Christmas Story

| Allan Rich

| Short film

1996

| Bound

| The Wachowskis

1997

| Warriors of Virtue

| Ronny Yu

1998

| The Lesser Evil

| rowspan="2" | David Mackay

rowspan="4" |1999

| Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying

The Matrix

| The Wachowskis

Universal Soldier: The Return

| Mic Rodgers

House on Haunted Hill

| William Malone

rowspan="5" | 2001

| Antitrust

| Peter Howitt

Valentine

| Jamie Blanks

Jurassic Park III

| Joe Johnston

| Jurassic Park Theme by John Williams

The Unsaid

| Tom McLoughlin

Behind Enemy Lines

| John Moore

rowspan="3" | 2002

| Long Time Dead

| Marcus Adams

The Animatrix

| Various

| Composed with Machine Head & Photek

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

| Kaos

| {{N/A}}

2003

| The Matrix Reloaded

| The Wachowskis

rowspan="2" | 2004

| The Matrix Revolutions

| The Wachowskis

Mighty Times: The Children's March

| Robert Houston

| Documentary short

2006

| The Marine

| John Bonito

rowspan="2" | 2007

| The Good Life

| Steve Berra

Ten Inch Hero

| David Mackay

rowspan="2" | 2017

| Tokyo Ghoul

| Kentarō Hagiwara

A Symphony of Hope

| Brian Weidling

| Documentary film

2018

| Beyond the Sky

| Fulvio Sestito

==Orchestration work==

class="wikitable"

style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"

! Year

! Film

! Composer

! Notes

1986

|Police Academy 3: Back in Training

| rowspan="2" |Robert Folk

| rowspan="2" |Credited as additional orchestrator.

1987

|Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol

|Die Hard 2

rowspan="4" |1991

|If Looks Could Kill

|David Foster

Hudson Hawk

| rowspan="2" |Michael Kamen

Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves

Ricochet

| rowspan="2" |Alan Silvestri

rowspan="2" |1992

|Death Becomes Her

The Muppet Christmas Carol

|Miles Goodman
Paul Williams

|Uncredited

rowspan="5" |1993

|Cop and a Half

|Alan Silvestri

Last Action Hero

|Michael Kamen

|Uncredited

Hocus Pocus

|John Debney

We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

| rowspan="2" |James Horner

The Pelican Brief

rowspan="8" |1994

|When a Man Loves a Woman

|Zbigniew Preisner

|Also composed additional music.

Clean Slate

|Alan Silvestri

|Uncredited

Maverick

|Randy Newman

Thumbelina

|Barry Manilow
William Ross

|Uncredited

I Love Trouble

|David Newman

Clear And Present Danger

| rowspan="3" |James Horner

The Pagemaster

Legends of the Fall

|Uncredited

rowspan="5" |1995

|A Goofy Movie

|Carter Burwell

|Also composed additional music & orchestrated and conducted by

Casper

| rowspan="2" |James Horner

Apollo 13

|Uncredited

Toy Story

|Randy Newman

Balto

|James Horner

|Uncredited

rowspan="5" |1996

|James And The Giant Peach

|Randy Newman

|Also did song arrangements

The Phantom

|David Newman

| rowspan="2" |Uncredited

Courage Under Fire

| rowspan="2" |James Horner

Ransom

Michael

|Randy Newman

rowspan="2" | 1997

|Titanic

|James Horner

|Credited as additional orchestrator

Air Force One

|Randy Newman

|Rejected Score

rowspan="3" |1998

|Pleasantville

| rowspan="2" |Randy Newman

A Bug's Life

| rowspan="5" |Randy Newman

2010

|Toy Story 3

2017

|Cars 3

rowspan="2" |2019

|Toy Story 4

Marriage Story

= Television =

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Notes
1983 \| Square Pegs \| 2 episodes
1983–84 \| Hart to Hart \| 4 episodes
1986 \| Kay O'Brien \| Episode: “Wreck the Halls”
1987 \| Sledge Hammer! \| 2 episodes
1987–90 \| Beauty and the Beast \| 48 episodes
1990 \| Matlock \| Episode: “The Personal Trainer”
1991 \| My Life and Times \| Episode: “The Collapse of '98”
1990–91 \| Tiny Toon Adventures \| 5 episodes
1992 \| The Plucky Duck Show \| Episode: "A Ditch in Time"
1993 \| Star Trek: The Next Generation \| Episode: "Face of the Enemy"
1992–95 \| Capitol Critters \| 8 episodes
1993–94 \| Taz-Mania \| 4 episodes
1994–95 \| SeaQuest 2032 \| 13 episodes
1995 \| CBS Schoolbreak Special \| Episode: "Between Mother and Daughter"

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Notes

1983

| Square Pegs

| 2 episodes

1983–84

| Hart to Hart

| 4 episodes

1986

| Kay O'Brien

| Episode: “Wreck the Halls”

1987

| Sledge Hammer!

| 2 episodes

1987–90

| Beauty and the Beast

| 48 episodes

1990

| Matlock

| Episode: “The Personal Trainer”

1991

| My Life and Times

| Episode: “The Collapse of '98”

1990–91

| Tiny Toon Adventures

| 5 episodes

1992

| The Plucky Duck Show

| Episode: "A Ditch in Time"

1993

| Star Trek: The Next Generation

| Episode: "Face of the Enemy"

1992–95

| Capitol Critters

| 8 episodes

1993–94

| Taz-Mania

| 4 episodes

1994–95

| SeaQuest 2032

| 13 episodes

1995

| CBS Schoolbreak Special

| Episode: "Between Mother and Daughter"

== Television films and limited series ==

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Director ! Notes
rowspan="3" \| 1988 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094771/ Bluegrass] \| Simon Wincer \|
A Stoning in Fulham County \| Larry Elikann \|
Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story \| Roy Campanella II \|
1989 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097520/ Home Fires Burning] \| Glenn Jordan \|
1990 \| Running Against Time \| Bruce Seth Green \|
rowspan="2" \| 1991 \| Lies Before Kisses \| Lou Antonio \|
A Little Piece of Heaven \| Mimi Leder \|
rowspan="2" \| 1992 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105022/ Notorious] \| Colin Bucksey \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105834/ Woman with a Past] \| Mimi Leder \|
rowspan="2" \| 1993 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0233489/ Country Estates] \| Donald Petrie \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107620 Murder of Innocence] \| Tom McLoughlin \|
rowspan="2" \| 1994 \| In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness \| Jeff Bleckner \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110318/ Leave of Absence] \| Tom McLoughlin \|
1995 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114471/ Sleep, Baby, Sleep] \| Armand Mastroianni \|
rowspan="5" \| 1996 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164029/ For Love Alone: The Ivana Trump Story] \| Michael Lindsay-Hogg \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116624/ In the Lake of the Woods] \| Carl Schenkel \|
The Beast \| Jeff Bleckner \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117321/ The Perfect Daughter] \| Harry Longstreet \|
Doomsday Virus \|Eric Laneuville \|
rowspan="6" \| 1997 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118580 Alibi] \| Andy Wolk \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119805 Not in This Town] \|Donald Wrye \|
A Match Made in Heaven \|Paul Wendkos \|
Weapons of Mass Distraction \|Stephen Surjik \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0130423 The Third Twin] \| Tom McLoughlin \|
House of Frankenstein \|Peter Werner \|
rowspan="3" \| 1998 \| The Lake \|David Jackson \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160468 Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story] \|Waris Hussein \|
Route 9 \| David Mackay \|
1999 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0157297/ In the Company of Spies] \| Tim Matheson \|
rowspan="3" \| 2000 \| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0222171/ Hell Swarm] \| Tim Matheson \|
Race Against Time \| Geoff Murphy \|
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0262682/ Personally Yours] \| Jeffrey Reiner \|
2002 \| Murder in Greenwich \| Tom McLoughlin \|
2004 \|Space Odyssey \|Joe Ahearne \|Documentary
2006 \| Augusta, Gone \| Tim Matheson \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Director

! Notes

rowspan="3" | 1988

| [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094771/ Bluegrass]

| Simon Wincer

A Stoning in Fulham County

| Larry Elikann

Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story

| Roy Campanella II