Daniel Dorff

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Daniel Dorff (born March 7, 1956 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American composer. He 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 is currently composer-in-residence for the Haddonfield Symphony. His works have been commissioned by such ensembles as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra, and performed by groups and individuals including the Baltimore Symphony, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Chicago Symphony chamber ensembles, pianist Marc-André Hamelin, clarinetist John Bruce Yeh, and flutist Donald Peck. He has also created arrangements for Sir James Galway and pop musicians Keith Emerson and Lisa Loeb.

Dorff has written works for orchestra, concert band, piano, chorus, and a variety of chamber ensembles, including often neglected instruments as contrabassoon, piccolo, and tenor saxophone. He 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 (the score to which was flown by NASA on the 100th mission of the Space Shuttle); and familiar stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs.

In addition to his compositional career, Dorff is a clarinetist and saxophonist; he was previously bass clarinetist for the Haddonfield Symphony, as well as having performed his own works. He frequently lectures on music engraving and notation, a subject he is expert in. 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.

[edit] Selected works

Andante con Variazioni for flute and clarinet
April Whirlwind for flute and piano
August Idyll for solo flute
Billy and the Carnival: A Children's Guide to Musical Instruments for Narrator and Orchestra
Blast Off! for narrator and orchestra
Concerto for Contrabassoon with clarinet, horn, and strings
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
Concerto for Solo Percussion and Orchestra
Dance Music for Eb Clarinet and Piano
Fantasy, Scherzo and Nocturne for saxophone quartet
Fast Walk for saxophone quartet or clarinet quartet or bassoon quartet
Goldilocks and the Three Bears for narrator with orchestra or mixed octet
Hot Spots (Seven Chakras) for tenor saxophone and piano
In a Deep Funk dance set for solo contrabassoon
It Takes Four to Tango, sax quartet or clarinet quartet (or other instrumentations)
The Kiss, orchestra, after a painting by Gustav Klimt
9 Walks Down 7th Avenue for flute and piano
Nocturne Caprice for solo flute
Pastorale (Souvenirs du Frög) for clarinet and piano
Peaceful Journey for cello and piano
Philly Rhapsody for orchestra
Serenade to Eve, After Rodin for flute and guitar
Sonatina d'Amore for two contrabassoons
Sonatine de Giverny for piccolo and piano
Stone Soup: An Operatic Fable in One Act, an opera for young audiences with soloists, mixed choir, and accompaniment
Summer Solstice for clarinet and strings
Symphony of Delusions for large wind ensemble
The Day Things Went Wrong at the Pet Store - 11 Cartoons for Piano
Three Dance Etudes for marimba duo or ensemble
Three Fun Fables, for narrator and orchestra or mixed octet
The Three Little Pigs for narrator, violin, and cello
Three Mysteries for violin and percussion
Three Romances for flute and clarinet
The Tortoise and the Hare for narrator and orchestra or mixed octet
The Year of the Rabbit for flute quartet or ensemble
Through a Misty Arch for flute ensemble