Meet Davis Harwell | Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Davis Harwell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Davis, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
Say yes…then figure out the rest.

The leap to start my own business was one of the scariest decisions I’ve made. It can feel like a crazy thing to believe in myself, and staking my career on that belief was pretty terrifying. Am I glad I did? Sure! (Most days. I think). What I didn’t realize at the time is that I would be faced with endless scary decisions every day after.

I decided right at the beginning that I was going to say “yes”. And then figure out the rest.

As a recently-graduated musician and composer, I felt pretty confident in my training…I felt like I could write some pretty decent music. I had loved movies and their soundtracks since I was a kid. But beyond that, I had absolutely zero experience composing for film. So out of necessity, I said “yes” to absolutely any opportunity that presented itself.

This sounds like a great idea! But once you say “yes”, you then have to actually deliver. And I had never done any of this before. I also had no evidence that supported the idea that I COULD actually deliver. Scary stuff.

I’ll say that this approach has (mostly) been really helpful for my business…as well as my development in my field. It pushes me out of my comfort zone, it forces me to be versatile and flexible, and it helps me identify things that are crucial regardless of what type of project I”m working on (serve the story, communication, organization, effectiveness, under-promise and over-deliver, be a generally nice person to work with etc.). It has also led me to be involved in projects that I never would have imagined I could do.

For example, I was perusing social media one day and came across a director colleague who was working on his first feature film. We hadn’t connected in several years, but I knew I wanted to score feature-length narrative films so I took a shot. Did I know that I could write 60 minutes of GOOD music? No! Did I even know how to load a video file into my composing software? In theory. Was I confident that I was going to make this movie better? Definitely not. But we started the conversation, and before long, I scored my first feature film and established a really beautiful working relationship with an aspiring director. We’ve been working together ever since, and it’s been amazing to support him (and vice versa) as we keep moving ahead toward our dreams.

Going about things this way will serve you large doses of imposter syndrome and humility…but I believe if you are committed and put in the work, and stay open minded, it can be a game changer.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a composer! It’s my full-time “day job” and I feel pretty lucky to be able to do it. I’ve found that a career in music is really challenging, stressful, exhausting…but totally possible and even fun (sometimes). I try to be as versatile as possible, so I’m able to support a variety of different artistic endeavors. Sometimes I’m the sole composer on a big film project, other times I’m a “ghost writer” for other composers who need support…sometimes I write string arrangements for touring artists, other times I’m making the sheet music for players in a recording session. It keeps you on your toes and can be very rewarding work.

My real passion is composing music just for the sake of creating art. While scoring a film presents a lot of fun challenges and opportunity to express myself, at the end of the day my job is to tell the story that is on screen. And while being versatile is pretty valuable and gives me a diverse portfolio, it has also led to times of identity crisis!

When I compose and produce my own music, I get to tell whatever story I want! I get to explore and learn and find my own unique voice.

I believe that music is medicine. It’s the only reason that I write every day. I think that music can bring joy and beauty and light and healing and connection…it speaks to every human in some way. And that brings me to the project that I’m currently most excited about.

I’m working on a long-form piece of original music (a little over an hour, in four movements) for orchestra, piano and synth/electronics. It’s called “We Existed” and it tells the story of a star that astronomers recently observed in real-time as it died. SN 2020tlf is 120-miliion light-years from Earth, and scientists correctly predicted and then observed its death. Something about this story struck me in a deep way…the idea that the star has actually been dead for 120 million years, and yet it’s light is still impacting us today. Maybe we all have light within us that can bring beauty and awe to others even long after we’re gone.

The piece is written and I’m now in the fundraising stage. Recording with live musicians (especially larger orchestral ensembles) can be incredibly expensive, and I don’t want to cut any corners. The hope is to work with members of the Colorado Symphony, local studios and engineers, and bring in some pretty cool visual production elements (also local folks) and create a film of the performance. Not only will it be a celebration of our Colorado artists, but I hope it will be a meaningful and impactful experience for anybody who hears or sees it. So stay tuned, I guess, and if you know any art-lovers with deep pockets send them my way! 🙂

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m going to be found at Coors Field at a Rockies game and I’ll bring anybody who wants to come. I love baseball, and I think Coors is one of the coolest stadiums around. For food and drink, I”m a big fan of Uncle Ramen and just across the street is The Spot. My favorite hikes recently have been up near Nederland, but of course must also give a shoutout to RMNP.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Nick Kirk of Whitestone Motion Pictures. Nick is a writer/director/producer/composer for Whitestone, and they have been doing some incredible work over the years. We first connected when I applied for their protege program…they had just added a film scoring protege position and I was lucky enough to grab a spot. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done solely because of the kind of person Nick is. He’s constantly challenging himself and those around him, he’s super generous and gracious with his time, always willing to help and support, and is also a badass composer. I’ve learned so much from him, and having someone farther down the road than me who is willing to answer questions and give feedback has been so valuable. Nick Kirk…what a guy!

Website: www.davisharwellmusic.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dhcomposer

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davisharwell/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davisharw/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/davisharwellmusic

Image Credits
Phil Sanders, Steve Willis, East Coast Scoring