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.
Some of his best known 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.
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, Robert Folk, and Randy Newman.
Davis has been nominated seven times <!--
| Please note that the Emmys page for Awards and Nominations for |
| Don Davis includes a win in 1981 for OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL |
| ACHIEVEMENT - creative technical crafts - 1981 |
| Winner Don Davis Cosmos PBS. This award was actually for the |
| artist of the same name Don Davis (artist) who won the Emmy |
| for his art in that series. Thank you. |
====--> 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), He continued to score television series until the two then young directors, the Wachowskis, hired him to score their neo-noir film Bound (1996).