Donald Romain Davis (born February 4, 1957) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, conductor, and

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

known for his film and television scores. He has also composed

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. He has collaborated with well-known directors including

the Wachowskis Lana Wachowski (born Larry Wachowski, June 21, 1965) and Lilly Wachowski (born Andy Wachowski, December 29, 1967) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women. Together known as the Wacho ...

, Ronny Yu, and

Jonathan Hensleigh Jonathan Blair Hensleigh (born February 13, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director, working primarily in the action-adventure genre, best known for writing films such as ''Jumanji'', '' Die Hard with a Vengeance'', and ''Armageddon' ...

in genres ranging from horror, to

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

, to

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

. His most notable compositions were scores for ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' (1988), ''

My Life and Times ''My Life and Times'' is an American drama television series that aired on ABC from April 24, 1991, to May 30, 1991. The series co-starred Helen Hunt. Premise Set in 2035 and 2036, the series focused on 85-year-old former journalist Ben Mill ...

'' (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 ''House on Haunted Hill'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig, and Elisha Cook Jr. Price play ...

'' (1999), and '' Behind Enemy Lines'' (2001), and most notably ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

'' (1999), ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...

'' (2003), '' The Animatrix'' (2003), and ''

The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. The direct sequel to ''The Matrix Reloaded,'' it is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months foll ...

'' (2004). Davis has been nominated for seven

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

s, 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 Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. 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. After graduating from high school, Davis enrolled at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. He continued his study of musical composition with tutor Henri Lazarof. Additionally, he learned orchestration from Albert Harris.

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 Mark Snow (born Martin Fulterman; August 26, 1946) is an American composer for film and television. Among his most famous compositions is the theme music for science fiction television series '' The X-Files''. ''The X Files'' instrumental wa ...

's TV show ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset ...

''. He has worked as an orchestrator and conductor for

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, record producer and musician. Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator and music producer of film scores. He has received two Grammy Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two ...

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American film composer. He worked on more than 160 film and television productions between 1978 and 2015. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements alongside tr ...

, and

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

. Davis has nominated seven times at the

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

, winning in 1995. He received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for ''

'' (1988), and for ''

'' (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 ''SeaQuest DSV'' (stylized as ''seaQuest DSV'' and also promoted as simply ''seaQuest'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon for NBC. It aired between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was re ...

'', 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 The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

motion picture '' A Goofy Movie'' (1995). He continued to score television series until the two then young directors,

, hired him to score their

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

film '' Bound'' (1996). Davis has composed scores for films such as '' Universal Soldier: The Return'' (1999), ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

'' (2003), ''

'' (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 A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

is the ''Matrix'' franchise: ''

'' (1999), ''

'' (2003), ''

'' (2004), and '' The Animatrix'' (2002). It was set apart from other film scores of its time for its

atonality Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...

and

avant garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

style of composition, with influences from polytonal

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

works by

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

and

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...

-like as well as aleatoric techniques prominent in the works of composer

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szymanow ...

. 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 Christopher Young (born April 28, 1958) is an American composer of Film score, film and television scores. Many of his compositions are for horror and thriller films, including ''Hellraiser'', ''Species (film), Species'', ''Urban Legend (film) ...

, 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

. 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 The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional Choir, chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one ...

on November 6, 2005, and the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...

on May 13, 2007.

Personal life

Davis currently splits his time between Southern California and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. He has been married to Megan MacDonald since 1986, and they have two children together.

Filmography

Film

Orchestration work

Television

Television films and limited series

Other works

* Chronym I for flute (1977) * Trio for violin, viola & cello (1978) * 12 Poems For Jonathan David Wolf for soprano & piano (1978) * Chamber Concerto (1978) * Timbral Spectra (1979) * Chamber Variations (1979) * Chronym II (1980) * Chamber Symphony (1981) * Chronym III (1981) * Symphony (1982) * Bleeding Particles (1983) * Harsh (1988) * Bleak (1989) * The Eye And The Pyramid (1990) * Going On (1991) * Green Light (1992) * What Is The Silence (1993) * Afterimages (1994) * Of The Illuminated (1995) * Flurry (1996) * No Exit (1996) * The Enchanted Place Suite (1997) * Pain (1998) * Illicit Felicity (1999) - Excerpt from “Bound” score * Critical Mass (2000) * Wandering (2002) * A Lunatic Air (On Fire) (2002) * Río de Sangre (2005) - Opera in three acts

References

External links

* *
Río De Sangre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Don 1957 births 20th-century American classical composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American classical composers 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American LGBTQ people Albany Records artists American contemporary classical composers American film score composers American LGBTQ composers American male conductors (music) American male film score composers American male opera composers American male television composers American opera composers American television composers Classical musicians from California Concert band composers La-La Land Records artists LGBTQ classical composers LGBTQ film score composers Living people Musicians from Anaheim, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni Varèse Sarabande Records artists