Dan Morphy


Dan Morphy

   

Dan is teaching Percussion Technique and Rhythm Training, leading Percussion Ensemble and coaching a Chamber Group.

Daniel Morphy's virtuosity and versatility are his core strengths as a performer and collaborator in the Toronto music scene. Equally comfortable as a solo and chamber musician in a variety of genres, he performs regularly with the Toy Piano Composers, the Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, the Ken Shorley Trio, the Arkora New Music Collective (Vancouver) and Haus Musik (San Fransisco). He also plays regularly with Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Center Orchestra, the National Ballet of Canada, the Esprit Orchestra and has also worked closely with Architek Percussion (Montreal), and composers Christos Hatzis, Peter Hatch, Nicole Lizée and many others.

Dan was awarded the “prix Domaine Forget” for his participation in the 2014 OSM solo competition, and in August 2017 performed Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring to 10 thousand people at Burning Man in Black Rock City, Nevada. He has also performed as a chamber soloist with the Toronto Symphony and marimba soloist with the Toronto Wind Ensemble, and has been featured on the Music Gallery’s Emergence Series. Other performances have been presented by Soundstreams Canada, Stratford Summer Music and the Banff centre. While attending the Roots and Rhizomes Percussion residency, taught and curated by percussionist Steve Schick, Dan worked along side John Luther Adams and performed in the world premiere of his seminal work Inuksuit in 2009.

An active composer, arranger and music creator, Daniel has written extensively for percussion, including his mallet quartet Thrown From A Loop (2011), his marimba duo The Aim was Song (2013), Like Crystal (2013) for 3 or more glockenspiels, his percussion quartet Dream Cycle #1(2013), and Runaway (2015) for small ensemble and percussion quartet. Walk…THIS way (2017) is his first work for solo percussion and was written in memory of his friend and teacher Robin Engelman (Nexus). Dan has also lately been more involved in composing for short film. Recent projects include The Pits by Shetu Modi and El Nazareno by Brandon Mills. His piece Your voice in the Windchimes (2018) for men's chorus with solo percussion was premiered by percussionist Rob Power and the Newman Sounds Men’s Chorus, directed by Jean Hart. Dan can be heard both as a composer and performer on CBC, NAXOS, Centrediscs, TSO live, MTV and Bedoint Records. He became an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre in 2014.

Dan received his Bachelors of Music from the University of Toronto and an Artist diploma from the Glenn Gould School of Music. He also has spent summers at the Tanglewood Institute and the Aspen School of Music. He continues to be guided and inspired by his mentor, Ray Dillard.

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Lake Field Music camp for adult amateurs

P.O. Box 73046, 465 Yonge St., Toronto Canada M4Y 2W5

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