Composer and musical director. Dods was born in Edinburgh but educated in England at Rugby and at King's College, Cambridge, as a Choral Scholar. He worked with Muir Matheson (1911-73) directing the music in films such as Hamlet (1948), starring Sir Laurence Olivier. He went on to act as either Musical Director or Conductor on more than 35 films between 1950 and 1983, including All Creatures Great and Small (1974), based on the novel by James Heriot (1913-95), Murder on the Orient Express (1974) Watership Down (1978), starring Hannah Gordon (b.1941), Death on the Nile (1978) and Life of Brian (1979).
Dods became Principal Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra and composed classical pieces in addition to film music.