Don Davis (composer)
| Don Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 4, 1957 Anaheim, California, United States |
| Occupation | Film composer |
| Spouse(s) | Megan MacDonald (m. 1986) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) |
Don Davis Anne Davis |
|
Musical career | |
| Genres | Film score |
Donald Romain Davis (born February 4, 1957) is an American film score composer, conductor, and orchestrator. Best known for his work on The Matrix, he has worked on a variety of films, from horror to comedy.
Early life
Davis was born in Anaheim, California. 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. 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 also worked as additional orchestrator for Michael Kamen on the film Die Hard 2.
Film and television scoring
Davis won Emmys in 1990 for Beauty and the Beast and 1995 for SeaQuest DSV. 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. He continued to score television series until the two then young directors, the Wachowskis, hired him to score their neo-noir film Bound. It was reasonably successful at the box office. Bound was the film which led Davis into becoming the composer for the entire Matrix trilogy. Subsequently, Davis has composed scores for films such as Jurassic Park III (recommended to the filmmakers by John Williams, the composer of the scores for the first two films in the series), House on Haunted Hill, Behind Enemy Lines, and The Unsaid. 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 Matrix franchise: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Animatrix. 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 like John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine and cluster-like as well as aleatoric techniques prominent in the works of composer Witold Lutosławski.
Opera
Don Davis' first opera, Río de Sangre, received its premiere at the Florentine Opera Company on October 22, 2010. Previously, excerpts from the opera were performed in Los Angeles with the Los Angeles Master Chorale on November 6, 2005, and the New York City Opera on May 13, 2007.
Discography
Film
Television
Television series
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983–1984 | Hart to Hart | N/A |
| 1987 | Sledge Hammer! | N/A |
| 1987–1990 | Beauty and the Beast | N/A |
| 1990 | Matlock | N/A |
| 1991 | My Life and Times | N/A |
| 1990–1991 | Tiny Toon Adventures | N/A |
| 1992 | The Plucky Duck Show | Episode: "A Ditch in Time" (Season 1, Episode 7) |
| 1993 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Episode: "Face of the Enemy" |
| 1992–1995 | Capitol Critters | N/A |
| 1993–1994 | Taz-Mania | N/A |
| 1994–1995 | seaQuest DSV | N/A |
| 1995 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Episode: "Between Mother and Daughter" (Season 12, Episode 5) |
| 1996 | Doomsday Virus | N/A |
| 2004 | Space Odyssey | N/A |
Video games
| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Enter the Matrix | Shiny Entertainment | N/A |
| 2005 | The Matrix Online | Monolith Productions | N/A |
Orchestration work
In addition to orchestrate and conducting his own scores, Don Davis has done orchestration work for many other composers. He was also conductor for the movie Flowers in the Attic, whose score was composed by Christopher Young, and for the TV documentary Eagles: Hell Freezes Over, and did arrangements for The 86th Academy Awards.
| Year | Film | Original composer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-1985 | V (TV) | Joe Harnell | 1 episode. |
| 1985-1989 | Moonlighting (TV) | 1 episode. | |
| 1986 | Police Academy 3: Back in Training | Robert Folk | Credited as additional orchestrator. |
| 1987 | Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol | Credited as additional orchestrator. | |
| 1988 | The In Crowd | Mark Snow | |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Michael Kamen | |
| 1991 | If Looks Could Kill | David Foster | |
| Hudson Hawk | Michael Kamen | ||
| Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves | |||
| Ricochet | Alan Silvestri | ||
| 1992 | Death Becomes Her | ||
| 1993 | Cop and a Half | ||
| Last Action Hero | Michael Kamen | Uncredited. | |
| Hocus Pocus | John Debney | ||
| We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story | James Horner | ||
| The Pelican Brief | |||
| 1994 | When A Man Loves A Woman | Zbigniew Preisner | Credited as additional orchestrator. Also composed additional music. |
| Clean Slate | Alan Silvestri | Uncredited. | |
| Maverick | Randy Newman | ||
| I Love Trouble | David Newman | ||
| Clear And Present Danger | James Horner | ||
| The Pagemaster | |||
| Legends Of The Fall | Uncredited. | ||
| 1995 | A Goofy Movie | Carter Burwell | It was never confirmed if he worked on Burwell's score. However, he orchestrated and conducted his own cues. |
| Casper | James Horner | ||
| Apollo 13 | Uncredited. | ||
| Toy Story | Randy Newman | ||
| Balto | James Horner | ||
| 1996 | James And The Giant Peach | Randy Newman | Also did song arrangements. |
| The Phantom | David Newman | Uncredited. | |
| Courage Under Fire | James Horner | Uncredited. | |
| Ransom | James Horner | ||
| Michael | Randy Newman | ||
| 1997 | Titanic | James Horner | Credited as additional orchestrator. |
| 1998 | Lost In Space | Bruce Broughton | Also composed additional music, without being credited for. |
| Pleasantville | Randy Newman | ||
| A Bug's Life | |||
| 2000 | Meet The Parents | ||
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | ||
External links
- Official Website
- Río de Sangre Official website
- Don Davis at the Internet Movie Database
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