Daniel Dorff
Daniel Dorff's music for flute and piccolo has entered the standard repertoire and is frequently performed and recorded worldwide. He has composed 7 commissioned works for the Philadelphia Orchestra's education department, and the Minnesota Orchestra's Kinder Konzert series has performed his music over 200 times. Highlights of 2015 and 2016 include several all-Dorff retrospective concerts at woodwind conventions, 11 performances of Three Fun Fables by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Utah Symphony, and 38 performances of Goldilocks and the Three Bears on the Minnesota Orchestra's Kinder Konzerts.
Dorff's works have also been performed by the Atlanta Opera (60 performances), Baltimore Symphony (32 performances), Pittsburgh Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, Spoleto Festival, and Eastman Wind Ensemble; chamber concerts of the Chicago Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, and Oregon Symphony; on the Chicago Symphony Radiothon, by clarinetists of the Chicago Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic, by pianist Marc-André Hamelin, flutists Jean-Pierre Rampal, Walfrid Kujala, Donald Peck, and Denis Bouriakov; and conducted by maestros Alan Gilbert and Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Other commissions have come from piccolo legends Walfrid Kujala and Sarah Jackson, the Colorado Symphony's Up Close and Musical series, Sacramento Symphony, Young Audiences, American Composers Forum, Ithaca College School of Music, Symphony in C, Flute Society of Washington, and other organizations. Dorff has also created arrangements for Sir James Galway and pop musicians Keith Emerson and Lisa Loeb.
Recent and upcoming premieres include:
--A Treeful of Monkeys, for Narrator, Clarinet, Violin, Horn, Percussion and Piano; commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra and premiered on their May 2015 Sound All Around series
--Hustle Etude No. 1 for Two Flutes, premiered in October 2015 by Ellen Fisher Deerberg and Kevin Willois
--Fireworks for Flute Orchestra, commissioned by the Flute Society of Washington for their 25th Anniversary Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention in February 2016, Reston VA
--Serenade for Flute and Harp, commissioned by the Sparx Flute & Harp Duo, premiere mid-2016
--Fanfare and Hustle for Brass Quintet, composed for the Curtis Institute's Community Artist Program
--Oswyn's Dream for Flute and Piano, commissioned by Sherry Kujala for premiere in 2016
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Daniel Dorff was born in New Rochelle, NY; acclaim came early with First Prize in the Aspen Music Festival's annual composers' competition at age 18 for his Fantasy, Scherzo and Nocturne for saxophone quartet. Dorff received degrees in composition from Cornell and University of Pennsylvania; teachers included George Crumb, George Rochberg, Karel Husa, Henry Brant, Ralph Shapey, Elie Siegmeister, and Richard Wernick. He studied saxophone with Sigurd Rascher. Dorff served from 1996 through 2015 as Composer-In-Residence for Symphony in C, in which he played bass clarinet from 1980 through 2002.
Daniel Dorff serves as VP of Publishing for Theodore Presser Company; he is a sought-after expert on music engraving and notation, having lectured at many colleges as well as Carnegie Hall, and advising the leading notation software companies. He serves on the Boards of Directors for the Music Publishers' Association of the USA, Charles Ives Society, Vincent Persichetti Society, Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia, and formerly served on the Board of the National Flute Association.
Dorff's compositions have been published by Theodore Presser Company, Carl Fischer, Lauren Keiser Music (formerly MMB), Shawnee Press, Mel Bay, Kendor Music, Tenuto Publications, and Golden Music, and recorded on Bridge, Crystal, Albany, Azica, and many other labels.
Website: www.danieldorff.com