Daniel Dorff
Daniel Dorff is an American classical musician and classical composer.
Biography and career
Dorff was born in New Rochelle, New York, and grew up in Flower Hill, New York, graduating from Roslyn High School.Dorff graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University and earned his master's degree in composition from the University of Pennsylvania, studying composition with George Crumb, George Rochberg, Karel Husa, Henry Brant, Ralph Shapey, Elie Siegmeister, and Richard Wernick. Dorff served from 1996 through 2015 as composer-in-residence for Symphony in C in Camden, New Jersey. His works have been commissioned by such ensembles as the Philadelphia Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra, and performed by groups and individuals including the Baltimore Symphony, Eastman Wind Ensemble, flutists and clarinetists of the Chicago Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic, pianist Marc-André Hamelin, and flutists Jean-Pierre Rampal, Jasmine Choi, Denis Bouriakov, and frequent collaborator Cindy Anne Broz. He has also created arrangements for Sir James Galway and pop musicians Keith Emerson and Lisa Loeb.
Dorff has written many frequently-performed recital works for woodwinds, and music for orchestra, concert band, piano, chorus, and chamber ensembles, including often-neglected instruments such as contrabassoon, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone – the best-known of which is In A Deep Funk, a dance suite for unaccompanied contrabassoon or bass clarinet. In addition to his compositional career, Dorff is a clarinetist and saxophonist and was bass clarinetist for the Haddonfield Symphony for 20 years prior to Alan Gilbert appointing him composer-in-residence. He frequently lectures on music engraving and notation, a subject in which he is expert. Dorff is currently vice president of publishing for music publisher Theodore Presser Company; his input has also been sought in the development of leading music notation software.
Works
Narrated works for young audiences
Dorff has taken a particular interest in exposing young people to classical music; many of his works are written for young audiences, including Three Fun Fables, a setting for narrator and orchestra of familiar Aesop tales; Billy and the Carnival, a narrated guide to the instruments of the orchestra; Blast Off!, a travelog of a trip to outer space ; and familiar stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and The Tortoise and the Hare, and Stone Soup: An Operatic Fable in One Delicious Act which has enjoyed well over 1000 performances.A Treeful of Monkeys for narrator and orchestra Billy and the Carnival – A Children's Guide to Musical Instruments for narrator and orchestraBlast Off! for narrator and orchestraGoldilocks and the Three Bears for narrator and orchestra Old MacDonald Had an Orchestra for narrator and mixed quintetTake The Orchestra Out to the Ballgame for narrator and orchestra The Adventures of Mary's Little Lamb for narrator and mixed quintetThe Bear Went Under the Mountain for narrator mixed quintetThe Three Little Pigs for narrator, violin, and celloThe Tortoise and the Hare for narrator and orchestra Three Fun Fables for narrator and orchestraSelected chamber music
Some chamber pieces composed by Dorff include:9 Walks Down 7th Avenue for flute and pianoAllegro Volante for xylophone and pianoAndante con Variazioni for flute and clarinetApril Whirlwind for flute and pianoAugust Idyll for solo fluteBallade for alto flute, flugelhorn, and pianoBFF's for E♭ clarinet and B♭ clarinetBig Sky for flute, viola, and harpBlue Jacaranda for two flutes and pianoCape May Breezes for wind quintetCosmic Menagerie for two bass clarinetsDance Music for Mr. Mouse for E♭ clarinet and pianoDark Romance for clarinet quartetDeep Funk, Part 2, Dance Sonata for solo viola Desert Dusk for alto flute and celloFanfare and Hustle for brass quintetFantasy, Scherzo and Nocturne for saxophone quartetFast Walk for saxophone quartet or clarinet quartet or bassoon quartetFireworks for flute orchestraFlash! for piccolo and pianoFlowers of St. Francis, five scenes for solo bass clarinetFolk Song Suite for two flutesFor Elise for flute and pianoHot Spots for B♭ Clarinet and English HornIn a Deep Funk dance set for solo contrabassoon Invention after BWV 1013 for two flutesInvention on Mozart's 11-tone Surprise for flute and clarinetIt Takes Four to Tango for sax quartet or clarinet quartet Midsummer Daydream for flute, viola, and harpNocturnes for the Nativity for solo flutePastorale for clarinet and pianoPerennials for flute, clarinet, and pianoPerfect Storm for piccolo, flute, and pianoRomanza on a theme of Rochberg for solo pianoSerenade for Flute and HarpSerenade to Eve, After Rodin for flute and guitarShadows for solo timpaniSnow Angel for flute and pianoSlippery Slopes for mixed clarinet sextet or ensembleSonata for bass flute and pianoSonata for flute and pianoSonatina d'Amore for two contrabassoons or two bass clarinetsSonatine de Giverny for piccolo and pianoSongs of the Open Road for solo fluteSpark for solo violaSwans for 2 alto flutes and pianoThe Day Things Went Wrong at the Pet Store – 11 Cartoons for PianoThree Dance Etudes for marimba duo or ensembleThe Seven Chakras for tenor saxophone and pianoThe Three Little Pigs for narrator, violin, and celloThree Romances for flute and clarinetThe Year of the Rabbit for flute quartet or ensembleThrough a Misty Arch for flute ensembleTrees for solo flute with narrationTweet for solo piccoloThe Seven Chakras for tenor saxophone and pianoTwo Cats for flute and clarinetWoodland Reverie for solo flute or solo bass clarinetZoe & Xena for piccolo and bass clarinetSelected orchestral music
Some orchestral pieces composed by Dorff include:A Treeful of Monkeys for narrator with orchestra or mixed quintetAllegro Volante for xylophone and orchestra Billy and the Carnival: A Children's Guide to Musical Instruments for narrator and orchestraBlast Off! for narrator and orchestraConcertino for flute and orchestra Concerto for Contrabassoon with clarinet, horn, and stringsConcerto No. 2 for clarinet and orchestraFlash! for piccolo and orchestraGoldilocks and the Three Bears for narrator with orchestra or mixed octetPachelbel's Christmas for orchestraPhilly Rhapsody for orchestraStone Soup: An Operatic Fable in One Act, an opera for young audiences with soloists, mixed choir, and accompanimentSummer Solstice Concerto for clarinet and string orchestraTake the Orchestra Out to the Ballgame for narrator and orchestraThe Kiss for orchestraThree Fun Fables for narrator and orchestra or mixed octetThe Tortoise and the Hare for narrator and orchestra or mixed octet- ''Symphony of Delusions''