50°
Daniel Dorff, who was born in New Rochelle, turns 60 on Monday.
Dorff, a composer, was born March 7, 1956. 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 as contrabassoon, piccolo, and tenor saxophone, the best-known of which are Sonatine de Giverny and Flash!, both for piccolo and piano.
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, 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.
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.
Click here to follow Daily Voice New Rochelle and receive free news updates.
