# Don Davis (composer)

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.
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.

## 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.
Davis has nominated seven times at the Primetime Emmy Awards, winning in 1995. 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). 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

| 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 | David Mackay | |
| 1999 | Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying | David Mackay | |
| 1999 | The Matrix | The Wachowskis | |
| 1999 | Universal Soldier: The Return | Mic Rodgers | |
| 1999 | House on Haunted Hill | William Malone | |
| 2001 | Antitrust | Peter Howitt | |
| 2001 | Valentine | Jamie Blanks | |
| 2001 | Jurassic Park III | Joe Johnston | |
| 2001 | The Unsaid | Tom McLoughlin | |
| 2001 | Behind Enemy Lines | John Moore | |
| 2002 | Long Time Dead | Marcus Adams | |
| 2002 | The Animatrix | Various | Composed with Machine Head & Photek |
| 2002 | Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever | Kaos | — |
| 2003 | The Matrix Reloaded | The Wachowskis | |
| 2004 | The Matrix Revolutions | The Wachowskis | |
| 2004 | Mighty Times: The Children's March | Robert Houston | Documentary short |
| 2006 | The Marine | John Bonito | |
| 2007 | The Good Life | Steve Berra | |
| 2007 | Ten Inch Hero | David Mackay | |
| 2017 | Tokyo Ghoul | Kentarō Hagiwara | |
| 2017 | A Symphony of Hope | Brian Weidling | Documentary film |
| 2018 | Beyond the Sky | Fulvio Sestito | |

#### Orchestration work

| Year | Film | Composer | Notes |
| 1986 | Police Academy 3: Back in Training | Robert Folk | Credited as additional orchestrator. |
| 1987 | Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol | Robert Folk | Credited as additional orchestrator. |
| 1988 | The In Crowd | Mark Snow | |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Michael Kamen | |
| 1991 | If Looks Could Kill | David Foster | |
| 1991 | Hudson Hawk | Michael Kamen | |
| 1991 | Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves | Michael Kamen | |
| 1991 | Ricochet | Alan Silvestri | |
| 1992 | Death Becomes Her | Alan Silvestri | |
| 1992 | The Muppet Christmas Carol | Miles Goodman Paul Williams | Uncredited |
| 1993 | Cop and a Half | Alan Silvestri | |
| 1993 | Last Action Hero | Michael Kamen | Uncredited |
| 1993 | Hocus Pocus | John Debney | |
| 1993 | We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story | James Horner | |
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | James Horner | |
| 1994 | When a Man Loves a Woman | Zbigniew Preisner | Also composed additional music. |
| 1994 | Clean Slate | Alan Silvestri | Uncredited |
| 1994 | Maverick | Randy Newman | |
| 1994 | Thumbelina | Barry Manilow William Ross | Uncredited |
| 1994 | I Love Trouble | David Newman | |
| 1994 | Clear And Present Danger | James Horner | |
| 1994 | The Pagemaster | James Horner | |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | James Horner | Uncredited |
| 1995 | A Goofy Movie | Carter Burwell | Also composed additional music & orchestrated and conducted by |
| 1995 | Casper | James Horner | |
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | James Horner | Uncredited |
| 1995 | Toy Story | Randy Newman | |
| 1995 | Balto | James Horner | Uncredited |
| 1996 | James And The Giant Peach | Randy Newman | Also did song arrangements |
| 1996 | The Phantom | David Newman | Uncredited |
| 1996 | Courage Under Fire | James Horner | Uncredited |
| 1996 | Ransom | James Horner | |
| 1996 | Michael | Randy Newman | |
| 1997 | Titanic | James Horner | Credited as additional orchestrator |
| 1997 | Air Force One | Randy Newman | Rejected Score |
| 1998 | Pleasantville | Randy Newman | |
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Randy Newman | |
| 1998 | Lost in Space | Bruce Broughton | |
| 2000 | Meet The Parents | Randy Newman | |
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | Randy Newman | |
| 2017 | Cars 3 | Randy Newman | |
| 2019 | Toy Story 4 | Randy Newman | |
| 2019 | Marriage Story | Randy Newman | |

### Television

| 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

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

## 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