My life has embraced many aspects of musical creativity. As a pianist it ranges from a "debut" at age five with Sammy Kaye and his orchestra (which led to jam sessions with other greats of the big band era), to performances with chamber music groups, solo appearances with orchestras, and extended concert tours throughout Europe, Canada, the United States and South America.
Some highlights of my performing career include cycles of the complete Mozart piano sonatas (in New York City and Baltimore), the five Beethoven concerti (plus the Triple Concerto and the Choral Fantasy) with the Baltimore Symphony, the recording of twelve Beethoven sonatas for Whitehall Records in London (while on a Fulbright Grant in England), and extended concert tours throughout Europe, many as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department.
Following my New York debut at Town Hall in 1957, I appeared on many leading TV and radio programs, including The Today Show and The Mike Wallace Show, and was selected by Eugene Ormandy as one of this country's most gifted and promising musicians for a feature article, "A Look At The Future," in Musical America. Future concerts in New York included Carnegie Hall, The Grace Rainy Rogers Young Artists Series at the Metropolitan Museum, Kaufmann Auditorium at the Y, Town Hall, and Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center.
After surviving a crash landing while on tour in South America, I performed the Brahms d minor concerto with the Bogata Symphony Orchestra the following evening. However, upon my return to the U.S., I relinquished my concert management and accepted an artist-in-residence position at Goucher College. This eventually led to a professorship there and at The Johns Hopkins University. Aside from my teaching schedule, which included courses in music history, musical theatre, and the history of jazz, I founded a community symphony orchestra (70 players), which I conducted for fourteen years. My enthusiasm for teaching led to the release of a series of recordings for Homespun Tapes Ltd. on music history, improvisation, practice techniques, and beginning piano for adults. This enthusiasm has carried over to my current presentation of Master Classes.
My compositions cover a broad spectrum from choral, orchestral, and chamber works to nine musicals and an opera, Satan In Salem. My musical, The Black Pearl, was written and performed aboard the QE2 during its' 2001 World Cruise. Recent performances include a cantata, Women At The Cross, selections from my Shakespeare sonnets (at Martha Argerich's Piano Festivals), and performances of works from my Opera-For–Piano series. A performance by pianist Alan Weiss of my Fantasia on Der Freischutz can be heard on YouTube, as well as four of a series of piano pieces inspired by Shakespeare's sonnets. Commissions include an oratorio, The St Mark Passion, a cantata Women At The Cross, a string quartet, a trumpet concerto (published by Mills Music, Ltd), and the musicals J & B and The Black Pearl.
My love for music in all forms continues to lead me to new venues — many of which I probably cannot yet identify.
Daniel Abrams
Biography
My life has embraced many aspects of musical creativity. As a pianist it ranges from a "debut" at age five with Sammy Kaye and his orchestra (which led to jam sessions with other greats of the big band era), to performances with chamber music groups, solo appearances with orchestras, and extended concert tours throughout Europe, Canada, the United States and South America.
Some highlights of my performing career include cycles of the complete Mozart piano sonatas (in New York City and Baltimore), the five Beethoven concerti (plus the Triple Concerto and the Choral Fantasy) with the Baltimore Symphony, the recording of twelve Beethoven sonatas for Whitehall Records in London (while on a Fulbright Grant in England), and extended concert tours throughout Europe, many as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department.
Following my New York debut at Town Hall in 1957, I appeared on many leading TV and radio programs, including The Today Show and The Mike Wallace Show, and was selected by Eugene Ormandy as one of this country's most gifted and promising musicians for a feature article, "A Look At The Future," in Musical America. Future concerts in New York included Carnegie Hall, The Grace Rainy Rogers Young Artists Series at the Metropolitan Museum, Kaufmann Auditorium at the Y, Town Hall, and Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center.
After surviving a crash landing while on tour in South America, I performed the Brahms d minor concerto with the Bogata Symphony Orchestra the following evening. However, upon my return to the U.S., I relinquished my concert management and accepted an artist-in-residence position at Goucher College. This eventually led to a professorship there and at The Johns Hopkins University. Aside from my teaching schedule, which included courses in music history, musical theatre, and the history of jazz, I founded a community symphony orchestra (70 players), which I conducted for fourteen years. My enthusiasm for teaching led to the release of a series of recordings for Homespun Tapes Ltd. on music history, improvisation, practice techniques, and beginning piano for adults. This enthusiasm has carried over to my current presentation of Master Classes.
My compositions cover a broad spectrum from choral, orchestral, and chamber works to nine musicals and an opera, Satan In Salem. My musical, The Black Pearl, was written and performed aboard the QE2 during its' 2001 World Cruise. Recent performances include a cantata, Women At The Cross, selections from my Shakespeare sonnets (at Martha Argerich's Piano Festivals), and performances of works from my Opera-For–Piano series. A performance by pianist Alan Weiss of my Fantasia on Der Freischutz can be heard on YouTube, as well as four of a series of piano pieces inspired by Shakespeare's sonnets. Commissions include an oratorio, The St Mark Passion, a cantata Women At The Cross, a string quartet, a trumpet concerto (published by Mills Music, Ltd), and the musicals J & B and The Black Pearl.
My love for music in all forms continues to lead me to new venues — many of which I probably cannot yet identify.
(from daniel-abrams.com)