Taylor Davis (violinist)

Biography

Taylor Davis was born on March 20, 1987 at Western Springs, Illinois. Her passion for videogames began when she was a child, especially since her older brother often involved her in his gaming sessions. Davis started playing violin at the age of 8, while in elementary school, after being inspired by a young girl's performance of "Silent Night" on the violin at a school assembly. Davis was heavily bullied in middle school; it was a sad and lonely time for her. This lasted until she started attending high school, where she met her future husband, Jarred, who shared and supported her passions and interests, which helped Davis regain her self-confidence. They married in 2011, after being best friends for 14 years. While in high school, Davis began playing video games music, and introduced this genre (especially tracks taken from Final Fantasy series) into the school's ambient. Later, Davis attended Gonzaga University, where she worked to introduce video game music to the college orchestra and quartet members. Because of her influence, some of the game music would be played at weddings and other gigs. Davis graduated from Gonzaga magna cum laude with a degree in Public Relations, and a minor degree in Violin Performance. After attending college, she intended to get into the profession of scoring music for games, films, or other media. It did not work out at the time, so she took a business job for a short period, while at the same time posting YouTube videos on the side (as a classically trained violinist, she was looking for a way to keep music a part of her life.) Davis worked as a Marketing/PR person for a non-profit organization until November 2011; then she decided to quit her job, so she could concentrate all her efforts into developing her career through YouTube.

Curiosities

Career and activity on YouTube

Davis started her first YouTube channel under the pseudonym "ViolinTay" on April 29, 2010. Since then, she captured media and people's attention, thanks to her top-notch technique and versatility, and the continuous growth of subscribers and video-views on her channel. As of 2015, Davis' first channel's statistics are: 158 videos posted, over 200,000,000 video-views and over 1,000,000 subscribers. Her most popular video (which has collected over 18,000,000 views) is entitled "He's a Pirate", where she plays an intense re-arrangement of Klaus Badelt's track which is featured in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. On March 23, 2015, almost five years after the launch of her first channel, Davis started a second YouTube channel titled "Behind the Strings", which is focused on sharing more aspects of Davis' activity to the audience. As of 2015, her second channel's statistics are: 26 videos posted, over 18,000 subscribers and over 200,000 video-views.

In October 2013, Critical Hit band's debut took place. This is a group formed by top-notch musicians, led by Jason Hayes (keyboardist and composer of World of Warcraft video game's soundtrack) and Michael Gluck (entrepreneur and pianist under the pseudonym "Piano Squall"). Davis joined the band in the same year, and beyond her, Hayes and Gluck, the other band members are: composer Adam Gubman, keyboardist David Paich (Toto's co-founder); violinists Michelle Jade, Caroline Campbell and Molly Rogers; bassists Carlitos del Puerto and Tim MacDonald; cellists Tina Guo, Ginger Murphy and Leah Metzler; percussionists Doug Belote, Joel Taylor and Kevin Dooley; guitarists Kole Hicks, Nita Strauss, Chet Stevens and Laurence Juber; pianist Salome Scheidegger; floutists Sara Andon, Shannon Canchola, and the "World Music" woodwinds-reeds-wind synthesizers specialist Pedro Eustache. The band published its first album in the same period.

Davis has also performed live at a number of prestigious events all around the world including:

Taylor Davis: Live in Concert (2015)

On May 28, 2015, Davis announced her first US concert tour. The tour began on September 29, 2015 in Northampton, Massachusetts at Iron Horse Music Hall, and concluded on October 28, 2015 in Austin, Texas at Long Center, after performing at 20 different locations. She was accompanied on every concert by pianist Salome Scheidegger. Tickets pre-order started on June 5, 2015.

Taylor Davis: Live in Concert - European Tour (2016)

Right after the conclusion of her first tour through the United States, Taylor Davis announced her new European series of concerts, where she toured from February to March 2016 through the major cities of Europe, for a total of 14 dates. Tickets pre-order started on October 29, 2015.

Gaming Fantasy (2012)

1. Skyrim Theme
2. Brothers (Fullmetal Alchemist)
3. Metal Gear Saga
4. Dearly Beloved (Kingdom Hearts)
5. Cid's Theme (Final Fantasy VII)
6. Time's Scar (Chrono Cross)
7. To Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X)
8. Grief and Sorrow (Naruto)
9. Roses of May (Final Fantasy IX)
10. Ezio's Family (Assassin's Creed 2)
11. Frog's Theme (Chrono Trigger)
12. Zelda Medley
13. Chrono Trigger Theme
14. Hikari (Kingdom Hearts)
15. Sadness and Sorrow (Naruto)
16. Grief and Sorrow (Naruto)

An Enchanted Christmas (2012)

1. Carol of the Bells
2. The Christmas Song
3. Silent night
4. Greensleeves
5. Let It Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
6. Silver Bells
7. O Holy Night
8. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
9. O Little Town of Bethlehem
10. White Christmas
11. I Saw Three Ships
12. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
13. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
14. Auld Lang Syne Scottish Medley

Game On: 2 Player Mode (2012) – Taylor Davis & Lara de Wit

1. Assassin's Creed 3 Theme
2. Passion (Kingdom Hearts II)
3. Fairy Tail Theme
4. Aeris' Theme (Final Fantasy VII)
5. Guile's Theme (Street Fighter II)
6. Sons of Liberty (Metal Gear Solid 2)
7. Roxas (Kingdom Hearts II)
8. Chocobo Medley
9. To Galaxy (Halo 4)
10. An End, Once and for All (Mass Effect 3)
11. Pokémon Theme
12. Eyes on Me (Final Fantasy VIII)
13. Song of Storms (Zelda OoT)

Legendary Movie Music (2013)

1. He's a Pirate (From "Pirates of the Caribbean")
2. Hedwig's Theme (From "Harry Potter")
3. Now We Are Free (From "Gladiator")
4. Lux Aeterna (From "Requiem for a Dream")
5. My Heart Will Go On (From "Titanic")
6. Duel of the Fates (From "Star Wars")
7. Jurassic Park Theme
8. James Bond Theme
9. Mission Impossible Theme
10. For the Love of a Princess (From "Braveheart")
11. Concerning Hobbits (From "The Lord of the Rings")
12. Raiders March (From "Indiana Jones")

Melodies of Hyrule: Songs from The Legend of Zelda (2013)

1. Gerudo Valley (From "Ocarina of Time")
2. Bolero of Fire (From "Ocarina of Time")
3. Song of Time and Song of Storms (From "Ocarina of Time")
4. Dragon Roost Island (From "the Wind Waker")
5. Kokiri Forest (From "Ocarina of Time")
6. Great Fairy Fountain
7. Zelda's Lullaby
8. Midna's Lament (From "Twilight Princess")
9. Nocturne of Shadow (From "Ocarina of Time")
10. Serenade of Water (From "Ocarina of Time")
11. Sheik's Theme (From "Ocarina of Time")
12. Lon Lon Ranch (From "Ocarina of Time")
13. Dark World Theme (From "a Link to the Past")
14. Ballad of the Goddess (From "Skyward Sword")
15. Tal Tal Heights and the Legend of Zelda Main Theme
16. Lost Woods (From "Ocarina of Time")

The Anime and Game Collection (2014)

1. Dr. Wily's Castle (From "Mega Man 2″)
2. Sadness and Sorrow (From "Naruto")
3. The Last of Us Theme
4. Attack on Titans Theme
5. Lilium (From "Elfen Lied")
6. Fairy Tail Slow Theme
7. Merry-Go-Round of Life (From "Howl's Moving Castle")
8. From Past to Present (From "Skyrim")
9. Angel Beats! Theme
10. Cosmo Canyon (From "Final Fantasy VII")
11. The Path of Wind (From "My Neighbor Totoro")
12. Binks' Sake (From "One Piece")
13. Halo 2 Theme
14. Fairy Tail Theme Remix (Bonus Track)

Taylor Davis (2015)

1. Soulbound
2. Reflections
3. Awakening
4. Mystic Forest
5. Atonement
6. Nebulous
7. Breakthrough
8. Hidden Falls
9. Halo of Light
10. A New Journey
11. Morning Star
12. Dawn of Hope

Odyssey (2016)

1. Gateway
2. The Summit
3. Wilderness
4. Hunter's Frontier
5. Voyager
6. Tales of the Wind
7. Highland Spirit
8. Everlasting
9. Legendary Guardian
10. Solace
11. Ignite
12. Starfire

Singles

1. Grief and Sorrow – released February 16, 2012
2. Zelda Medley – released March 7, 2012
3. Ezio's Family – released March 30, 2012
4. Arrival to Earth – released June 28, 2012
5. Wide Awake (violin version) – released November 5, 2012
6. Promentory – released November 26, 2012
7. Journey Medley – released February 14, 2013
8. Game of Thrones Theme – released March 26, 2013
9. Elizabeth's Theme Medley – released April 23, 2013
10. Downton Abbey Theme – released May 2, 2013
11. The Avengers Theme – released August 27, 2013
12. Misty Mountains – released August 27, 2013
13. Never Meant to Belong – released August 27, 2013
14. Wake Me Up (violin / electric violin version) – released October 1, 2013
15. The Circle of Life – released March 13, 2014
16. Let it go (violin version) – released March 27, 2014
17. Doctor Who Theme – released April 24, 2014
18. Thriller (violin version) – released October 30, 2014
19. The Hobbit – The Last Goodbye – released December 15, 2014
20. The Hanging Tree – released December 30, 2014
21. Swordland - released September 2, 2015
22. Colors of the Wind - released September 24, 2015
23. Star Wars Medley - released December 16, 2015
24. For the Dancing and the Dreaming (From "How to Train Your Dragon 2") - released January 14, 2016

with Lara de Wit

1. Fear Not This Night – Guild Wars 2 (ft. Malukah) – published September 29, 2012
2. Assassin's Creed 3 Theme – released November 7, 2012
3. Halo 4: To Galaxy – released November 9, 2012
4. The Phantom of the Opera Medley – released August 27, 2013

with Peter Hollens

1. The Rains of Castamere – released June 7, 2013
2. World of Warcraft Medley (ft. Evynne Hollens) – released January 7, 2014
3. Into the West – released June 11, 2014
4. May it be – released June 24, 2014

with The Hound + The Fox

1. Demons (Imagine Dragons cover) – released October 3, 2013
2. For the Dancing and the Dreaming – released September 9, 2014

with Home Free

1. Silent Night – released November 13, 2014
2. The Devil Went Down To Georgia – released September 18, 2015

with Jennifer Thomas

1. What Child Is This – released December 1, 2015

This discography was compiled from iTunes and Loudr.

Videography

NOTE: Taylor Davis also appears on several YouTube videos which are published on other channels, such as: