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

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", orc ...

and

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

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

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

and

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

. Davis has collaborated with well-known directors including

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

Ronny Yu Ronny is a given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Ryan. It may refer to: * Ronny (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo * Ronny (footballer, born 1991), Brazilian footballer Ronieri da Silva Pi ...

, and Joe Johnston in genres ranging from horror, to

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

, to comedy. His best known works include music for ''The Matrix'' franchise, and the television series ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

'' and ''

seaQuest 2032 ''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. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, i ...

''. Davis has been nominated for eight

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. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

s, winning twice for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. He has also won four BMI Film Music Awards.

Early life and education

Davis was born in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, 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. 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. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He continued his study of musical composition with tutor

Henri Lazarof Henri Lazarof ( Bulgarian: Хенри Лазаров) (April 12, 1932 – December 29, 2013) was a Bulgarian-American composer. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, his formal musical training began in Israel under Paul Ben-Haim. After a short stint in Rome, ...

. Additionally, he learned orchestration from Albert Harris.

Career

During their orchestration lessons, Harris introduced Davis to the TV composer

Joe Harnell Joseph Harnell (August 2, 1924 – July 14, 2005) was an American composer, musician, and music arranger. Early life His father was a vaudeville performer who also played in jazz and klezmer ensembles. Harnell began playing piano at age six and ...

, 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 theme reached no. 2 on the UK Si ...

's TV show '' Hart to Hart''. 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, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born i ...

Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Back ...

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was in ...

, and

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

. Davis was nominated for the

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 1990 for ''

'' and won in 1995 for ''

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. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it ...

''. 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 known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

motion picture ''

A Goofy Movie ''A Goofy Movie'' is a 1995 American animated musical comedy-adventure film produced by Disney MovieToons and Walt Disney Television Animation. Directed by Kevin Lima, the film is based on The Disney Afternoon television series ''Goof Troop' ...

''. He continued to score television series until the two then young directors,

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

, hired him to score their

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating s ...

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 Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

'' trilogy. Subsequently, Davis has composed scores for films such as '' Universal Soldier: The Return'', ''

Jurassic Park III ''Jurassic Park III'' is a 2001 American science fiction action film, written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor and directed by Joe Johnston. It is the third installment in the ''Jurassic Park'' franchise and the final film ...

'' (recommended to the filmmakers by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

, the composer of the scores for the first two films in the series), ''

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 plays an ...

'', '' 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 A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use 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, ...

is the ''Matrix'' franchise: ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'', ''

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

'', ''

The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months following ''The Matrix Reloaded''. The film stars ...

'', and ''

The Animatrix is a 2003 adult animated science-fiction anthology film produced by the Wachowskis. The film details through nine animated short films the backstory of ''The Matrix'' film series, including the original war between humanity and machines which l ...

''. 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 a ...

and

avant garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical D ...

style of composition, with influences from

polytonal Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, ...

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

works by

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

and

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

-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 Szyman ...

. 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 ''Flowers in the Attic'' is a 1979 Gothic novel by V. C. Andrews. It is the first book in the Dollanganger Series, and was followed by '' Petals on the Wind'', '' If There Be Thorns'', '' Seeds of Yesterday'', '' Garden of Shadows'', '' Christop ...

'', whose score was composed by

Christopher Young Christopher Young (born April 28, 1957) is an American composer and orchestrator of film and television scores. Many of his compositions are for horror and thriller films, including ''Hellraiser'', ''Species'', ''Urban Legend'', ''The Grudge'' ...

, 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 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 of the ...

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 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

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

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 LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people American classical composers American classical trombonists American conductors (music) American contemporary classical composers American film score composers American LGBT musicians American male classical composers American male conductors (music) American male film score composers American opera composers American television composers Classical musicians from California Composers for trombone Concert band composers LGBT classical composers LGBT film score composers Living people Male opera composers Male television composers Male trombonists Musicians from Anaheim, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni Varèse Sarabande Records artists