Daniel Dorff

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Daniel Dorff’s music has been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Wolfgang Sawallisch, commissioned three times by the Philadelphia Orchestra’s education department and twice by the Minnesota Orchestra’s Kinder Konzert series which has performed his music over 100 times. Dorff’s works have also been performed by the Baltimore Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Eastman Wind Ensemble, chamber concerts of the Chicago Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and Oregon Symphony, on the 1998 Chicago Symphony Radiothon, by clarinetists of the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic, and by pianist Marc-André Hamelin and clarinetist John Bruce Yeh. Other commissions have come from the Colorado Symphony’s Up Close and Musical series, Sacramento Symphony, Young Audiences, American Wind Symphony Orchestra, Ithaca College School of Music, Haddonfield Symphony, Network for New Music, flutist Mimi Stillman, National Flute Association Piccolo Committee, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, and other organizations. Born in New Rochelle, NY in 1956, Dorff’s acclaim came early with First Prize in the Aspen Music Festival’s annual composers’ competition at age 18. Originally a saxophonist, Dorff received degrees in composition from Cornell and Univ. of Pennsylvania. His teachers included George Rochberg, George Crumb, Karel Husa, Richard Wernick, Ralph Shapey, Elie Siegmeister, and Henry Brant. He studied saxophone with Sigurd Rascher and is an active bass clarinetist. In 1996, Dorff was named Composer-In-Residence for the Haddonfield Symphony. In 2002 the Philadelphia Orchestra's education department premiered The Adventures of Mary's Little Lamb for narrator with mixed quintet, and a sequel Take The Orchestra Out to the Ballgame has been commissioned for March 2003. Other recent and upcoming premieres include Mimi Stillman's performances of Nocturne Caprice for unaccompanied flute, members of the Haddonfield Symphony in Say Hey! (Homage to Willie Mays for Percussion Trio with Baseball Bats and Audience Participation), Mara Gearman of the Oregon Symphony performing Deep Funk Pt. 2: Dance Sonata for Solo Viola, and a commissioned work for the 2003 Ithaca College Choral Festival. Other recent & upcoming highlights include 8 performances by the Baltimore Symphony of The Tortoise and the Hare, clarinetist John Yeh's performances of Summer Solstice in Chicago and Denver, and many orchestras' performances of Blast Off! In 2002, Dorff received his fifth Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and his music was performed at annual conventions of the National Flute Association and International Clarinet Association. Daniel Dorff has been Director of Publications for Theodore Presser Company since 1985; he is a sought-after lecturer on music engraving and notation, having spoken on these topics at many colleges as well as Carnegie Hall. Dorff’s compositions have been published by Theodore Presser Company, MMB Music Inc., Elkan-Vogel, Shawnee Press, Mel Bay, Kendor Music, Carl Fischer, Tenuto Publications, and Golden Music, and recorded on the Crystal, Silver Crest, Barking Dog, Capstone, Orange Note, Farao Classics, Northbranch, Sea Breeze, and Meister labels. For most current information please visit www.danieldorff.com