He has been commissioned by numerous ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra, and his music has been performed by the Baltimore Symphony, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Marc-André Hamelin, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Jasmine Choi, Denis Bouriakov, Sir James Galway, Keith Emerson, Lisa Loeb, and Cindy Anne Broz. He is an expert on music engraving and notation and is currently vice president of publishing for Theodore Presser Company. Dorff has a particular interest in introducing classical music to the younger generations, and many of his works are written for young audiences.
Daniel Dorff Sheet Music
Already a long-standing rite of passage in the contrabassoon repertoire, Dorff has revisited and adapted "In A Deep Funk" for solo bass clarinet, for Barbara Haney to premiere at the 2014 ICA ClarinetFest. In the spirit of Bach cello suites, Dorff develops characteristic dance rhythms to drive each movement. For advanced performers.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Commissioned by the Sacramento Symphony as a jazz-rock infused guide to orchestral instruments, Billy and the Carnival tells the story of a young boy who discovers musicians coming to his park to play a concert. Within the course of the story, every instrument is introduced by name, followed by a characteristic solo.
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Commissioned by Lockheed Martin for the Haddonfield Symphony for a March 2000 children's concert with a theme about outer space. Astronaut Kenneth Reightler, who has piloted the NASA Space Shuttle twice, was the narrator. Blast Off! takes young listeners on a tour of outer space, bringing their imaginations into play.
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A favourite at family concerts from community ensembles through to the Philadelphia Orchestra, Dorff’s Goldilocks uses the familiar story to engage listeners young and old, while the plot and characters illustrate variations on a theme and contrasts between low/medium/high.
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Commissioned by the Auricolae and the American Composers Forum for Strings in the Schools, The Three Little Pigs is a full-sounding showpiece for violin and cello, telling the familiar story while illustrating musical variations and leitmotifs, using lots of humour for children, adults, and musicians. The audience even helps the wolf blow the house down!
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Dorff’s landmark trio for flute, clarinet, and piano is a suite of five movements expressing intricate beauty, poignant scenery, and pure joy.
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When commissioned by the celebrated Sparx Duo, Dorff's thoughts immediately went to the French medieval style that had so captured his attention in his college days. The resulting five-movement duo reflects the music of the period and includes as the fourth movement a statement of the 14th-century love song Helas! Je voy mon cuer a fin venir by Solage. Dorff's neo-medieval sound is full of plaintive lyricism and driving dance rhythms.
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The pastoral charm inherent in flute, viola, and harp textures, combined with a commissioner’s request for a wedding gift, could only lead to a sort of midsummer daydream. Dorff’s 7-minute creation is a lighthearted scherzo, elegantly interrupted by a middle section that is both a processional and a love song.
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The title Sonatina d'Amore tells it all. This brief three-movement suite resembles a classical sonatina in form and lightness, while d’amore expresses the music’s gentle warmth, often resembling an operatic love scene.
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Three Romances for flute and Bb clarinet.
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