Daniel Dorff’s flute and piccolo music is frequently performed and recorded worldwide; over 40 flutists have shared YouTube performances of his Sonata (Three Lakes), and Gudrun Hinze’s YouTube of Tweet has over 500,000 views. Dorff has written 7 commissions for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s education department, and the Minnesota Orchestra’s Kinder Konzert series has performed his music over 200 times.
Highlights of 2022-23 include a guest composer residence at the International Piccolo Festival in Grado, Italy; an all-Dorff retrospective concert and masterclass presented by the Atlanta Flute Club; premieres and performances at annual conventions of the NFA and International Clarinet Association; and premieres of other recent works.
Dorff’s works have been presented by Young Audiences (over 1000 opera performances in schools), the Atlanta Opera (60 performances), Baltimore Symphony (32 performances), Pittsburgh Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, Chicago Symphony Radiothon, clarinetists of the Chicago Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic, pianists Jeremy Denk and Marc-André Hamelin, and many of the world’s leading flutists. His orchestral music has been premiered by maestros including Alan Gilbert and Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Other commissions have come from Walfrid Kujala, Sarah Jackson, the South Dakota Symphony, the Colorado Symphony’s Up Close and Musical series, Young Audiences, American Composers Forum, Ithaca College School of Music, and many other soloists and organizations. Dorff has created arrangements for Sir James Galway and pop musicians Keith Emerson and Lisa Loeb. Performers have uploaded over 500 YouTubes of his compositions and arrangements, which have received over 1,400,000 views.
Recent and upcoming premieres include:
* Perfect Storm for Piccolo, Flute, and Piano, commissioned by Duo Flautas Frescas (Julia Barnett and Alina Windell), premiered through the Atlanta Flute Club, April 1, 2023.
* Invention on Mozart’s 11-tone Surprise for Flute and Bb Clarinet, premiered at the International Clarinet Association’s annual convention by Katrina King and Tim Haas, July 2023.
* Big Sky for Flute, Viola, and Harp, commissioned by Hat Trick (April Clayton flute, David Wallace viola, Kristi Shade harp) for premiere and tour in 2023.
* Concerto No. 2 for Clarinet and Orchestra, commissioned by the South Dakota Symphony for April 13, 2024 premiere by retiring principal clarinetist Christopher Hill, conducted by Delta David Gier.
Daniel Dorff was born in New Rochelle, NY; acclaim began at age 18 with First Prize in the Aspen Music Festival’s annual composers’; competition. Dorff received degrees in composition from Cornell and University of Pennsylvania; teachers included George Crumb, George Rochberg, Karel Husa, Henry Brant, Ralph Shapey, and Elie Siegmeister. He served for 21 seasons as Composer-In-Residence for Symphony in C, where he also played bass clarinet.