Don Banks facts for kids

Donald Oscar Banks (born October 25, 1923 – died September 5, 1980) was an Australian musician. He wrote many different kinds of music. This included music for concerts, jazz music, and music for movies and TV shows.

Early Life and Musical Training

Jazz music was very important to Don Banks from a young age. He learned to play the saxophone as a boy in Australia. He became so good that he was asked to play in the Graeme Bell band. This band was one of the best jazz groups outside of America at the time.

From 1941 to 1946, he served in the Australian Army Medical Corps. During this time, he also studied piano and music theory on his own. He then spent two years studying music at the University of Melbourne. In 1950, he moved to Europe to continue his studies.

In the UK, he studied with Mátyás Seiber, a composer who also loved jazz. He also became friends with Gunther Schuller. Banks wrote several pieces for the famous jazz musician Tubby Hayes. He also studied with modern composers like Milton Babbitt in Salzburg and Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence.

Career as a Composer

In the 1950s, Banks worked as a secretary for Edward Clark. Clark was in charge of the London Contemporary Music Centre. Banks also led the Society for the Promotion of New Music for a time.

During the 1960s, while living in the UK, Banks earned most of his money by writing music for films. He composed scores for many horror movies made by Hammer Studios. Some of these films include Rasputin the Mad Monk and The Mummy’s Shroud.

In 1972, he moved back to Australia. He became the Head of Composition and Electronic Music Studies at the Canberra School of Music. He worked there until 1977. After that, he held several other teaching jobs. In 1978, he was made Head of the School of Composition Studies at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music.

Don Banks passed away at his home in Sydney after a long illness. He left behind his wife, Valerie, and his son, Simon. The Don Banks Music Award was created in 1984 to honor him. This award helps support Australian musicians.

Don Banks' Music

Don Banks considered his Violin Sonata from 1953 to be his first important work. However, he wrote earlier pieces too, like a piano Sonatina from 1948. His Five North Country Folk Songs (1953) show the influence of his teacher, Mátyás Seiber.

Some of his most famous concert pieces include:

• Sonata da Camera (1961) for several instruments.
• A Horn Concerto (1965), written for and first played by Barry Tuckwell.
• A Trio for horn, violin, and piano (1962).
• A Violin Concerto (1968).
• Nexus, a major piece that mixes jazz and classical music.

Banks wrote music for 19 feature films and 22 documentaries. He also scored over 60 episodes of different TV shows. Almost half of his film scores were for Hammer Films. Composer Douglas Gamley said that Banks enjoyed writing intense and modern music for these films. The Reptile (1968) is thought to be one of his best Hammer scores. Banks also wrote jazz music for Hammer films, like Hysteria (1964). He also worked often with Halas and Batchelor on cartoon films. He scored more than 70 short cartoons, advertisements, and animated TV series.

Main Compositions

Orchestral Works

• Four Pieces for Orchestra (1953)
• Coney Island (1961)
• Elizabethan Miniatures (1962)
• Horn Concerto (1965)
• Assemblies (1966)
• Violin Concerto (1968)
• Intersections for Orchestra and Electronics (1969)
• Prospects (1973)
• Trilogy (1979)

Chamber and Instrumental Music

• Sonatina in c♯ minor for piano (1948)
• Trio for flute, violin and cello (1948)
• Sonata for violin and piano (1953)
• Three Studies for cello and piano (1954)
• Pezzo Dramatico (1956)
• Sonata da Camera (1961)
• Trio for horn, violin and piano (1962)
• Prologue, Night Piece and Blues for Two for clarinet and piano (1968)
• String Quartet (1975)

Vocal Music

• Five North Country Folk Songs (1953)
• Tirade for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble (1968)

Jazz and Classical Mix (Third Stream)

• Equations I (1963) for jazz and chamber players
• Meeting Place (1970) for jazz ensemble, symphony orchestra and synthesizer
• Equations II for jazz and chamber players
• Nexus (1971) for jazz quintet and symphony orchestra

Film Music

Don Banks wrote music for these films:

• The Price of Silence (1959)
• Murder at Site 3 (1959)
• The Third Alibi (1961)
• Captain Clegg (1962)
• Panic (1963)
• The Punch and Judy Man (1963)
• The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
• Crooks in Cloisters (1964)
• Nightmare (1964)
• Hysteria (1964)
• The Brigand of Kandahar (1965)
• Monster of Terror (1965)
• The Reptile (1966)
• Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966)
• The Frozen Dead (1966)
• Torture Garden (1967)
• The Mummy's Shroud (1967)
• ‘’Die Monster, Die’’ (19xx)