Tim Davies Biography
Tim Davies leads a busy and versatile musical life. Born and educated in Australia, he is now based in Los Angeles, where the Grammy-nominated and Annie-winning musician juggles conducting, orchestrating, composing, and arranging for major projects across film, television, video games, and concert stages around the world.
An important milestone in Davies’ arranging career is his long-standing relationship with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and the Kennedy Center, beginning with the 20th-anniversary concert of NAS’ Illmatic. He later served as the lead arranger for Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly performance with the NSO. Other collaborations with the NSO have included artists such as Ledisi, Common, Maxwell, Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds, Ne-Yo, Alita Moses, Ray Chen, Killer Mike, and Tobe Nwigwe. Davies has also crafted shows for Aminè and the Oregon Symphony and TechN9ne and the Kansas City Symphony. He co-wrote the arrangement of Single Ladies for Liza Minelli in the Sex and the City Movie. In 2023 he wrote a last minute arrangement for Stevie Wonder when he decided to sit in with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for a tribute to Quincy Jones. He has also recently written arrangements for the estates of David Bowie, The Blackstar Symphony featuring Donny McCaslin and John Coltrane, Legacy featuring Joe Lovano.
Internationally, he enjoys an ongoing relationship with the Metropole Orkest in the Netherlands, with highlights including concerts with Cory Henry, Anoushka Shankar, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Mark Lettieri from Snarky Puppy. Davies has contributed to many performances at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall, arranging for artists such as Moses Sumney, Ibeyi, and Paul Weller during the BBC Proms, as well as Dua Lipa’s debut with the Heritage Orchestra. His string arrangements have enhanced the albums of Amy Winehouse, Miguel, Cee Lo Green, Akon, Nas and Robbie Williams and he orchestrated and conducted Gravity for Sara Bareilles and producer Eric Rosse. He’s also been a member of the arranging team for several Academy Awards ceremonies.
In addition to his collaborations, Davies leads his own ensemble, the 18-piece Tim Davies Big Band, which has earned him two Grammy nominations for Best Instrumental Composition.
Davies began his career in Los Angeles in 1999, working as an assistant to renowned arranger, bassist and bandleader John Clayton. During this time, he orchestrated and transcribed music for Clayton’s collaborations with artists such as Diana Krall, Michael Brecker, Oscar Peterson, Take 6, Dave Brubeck, Stanley Turrentine, Quincy Jones and Natalie Cole.
Davies’ film and TV credits as a lead orchestrator and/or conductor include blockbuster hits such as Frozen, Frozen 2, Ant-Man (all three films), The Bob’s Burgers Movie, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, The Lego Movie 2, La La Land, Trolls, The Peanuts Movie, Unfrosted, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, WandaVision, and Agatha All Along. Alan Menken’s upcoming musical Spellbound features two arrangements by Davies and he rounds out 2024 conducting the scores to Snow White and Minecraft.
Outside of the studio, Davies occasionally conducts orchestras in live performances. Recent engagements include the Blackstar Symphony featuring Donny McCaslin, John Cameron Mitchel and Gail Ann Dorsey with the Portland, Seattle, and Charleston Symphony Orchestras, TechN9ne with the Kansas City Symphony, and Black Violin with the Detroit Symphony. In December 2024, he will arrange and conduct a special performance for Kem and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.
Beyond his work as an arranger and conductor, Davies has scored several high-profile projects. He has a close working relationship with directors Jorge Gutierrez and Guillermo del Toro. For Gutierrez, Davies scored Maya and the Three, which earned him an Annie Award for Best Score. He previously collaborated with two-time Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla to score The Book of Life and received an Annie nomination for his work on Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, executive produced by del Toro. He also contributed additional music for del Toro’s Crimson Peak, and the two recently reunited for Lot 36, the first episode of the anthology series Cabinet of Curiosities. In the world of video games, Davies has worked on multiple titles in the God or War, Infamous, Sims, Resistance, Socom, and Ratchet and Clank series, as well Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, The Last of Us, and Halo Infinite to name a few. Some of his work from The Last of Us game (in collaboration with Santaolalla) can also be heard in HBO’s recent live action adaptation.
Respected for his orchestration skills and notation knowledge, yet continually learning and refining his skills, Davies’ maintains a blog sharing his thoughts and findings. DeBreved has become a go-to resource for students and professionals alike.
