Omar Daniel (born 1960) is a Canadian
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
and
pianist, and an associate professor of composition at the
Western University.
Early life and education
Daniel was born in
Toronto,
Ontario, of Estonian descent. He earned a
Doctor of Music from the
University of Toronto where he was a
music composition pupil of
John Beckwith.
Career
In 1997 he won the
Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music The Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music is a Canadian contemporary classical music award given to composers in recognition of quality new works of chamber music. Granted annually since 1978 (with the exception of 1984 and 1990 when no prize was ...
for his ''Zwei Lieder nach Rilke'', a work for
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
and chamber ensemble. At about that time he created a number of compositions for guitar which were performed at the Winnipeg New Music Festival and recorded by classical guitarist Rachel Gauk.
In 2003, he taught musical theory and practice at
The Glenn Gould School in Toronto.
[Ezra Schabas. ]
There's Music In These Walls: A History of the Royal Conservatory of Music
'. Dundurn; 1 September 2005. . p. 242. In 2007 he received the K.M. Hunter Artists Award for classical music. He served on the faculty of Wilfrid Laurier University, and later became an associate professor of composition at the
Western University.
Daniel was commissioned to create a non-verbal choral work for the Latvian Radio Choir, who performed it in Toronto in 2018. That year Daniel performed at Chamberfest in Ottawa.
In October 2020, Daniel released a CD ''Omar Daniel: Chamber Works'', a collection of chamber pieces performed by the Land's End Ensemble as part of a long collaboration between the Canadian composer and this Juno-nominated, Calgary-based chamber group.
Selected compositions
*"The Flaying of Marsyas"
[Paul Sanden. ]
Liveness in Modern Music: Musicians, Technology, and the Perception of Performance
'. Routledge; 17 January 2013. . p. 136.
* "Dreams of the Panther"
*"STELCO"
"New Music review: Evelyn Glennie and Land's End Ensemble provide spectacular evening of six premieres at the Bella"
''Calgary Herald'', Stephan Bonfield, 31 May 2017
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
"Omar Mark Daniel"
''SoundCloud''. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Omar
Living people
1960 births
Canadian male composers
Musicians from Toronto
Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music winners
Canadian classical composers
University of Toronto alumni
Academic staff of the University of Toronto
Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario