About Me
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I love passing on my passion for disciplined work in multiple styles. I have a deep understanding of harmony and voice leading, which I enjoy expressing in my solo improvisatory performances. At any time on my piano you may find a book of Bach chorales, Chopin etudes or Joplin rags. On my laptop, you will find transcriptions of Oscar Peterson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Joel and beyond. I love digging deep into my memory of musical examples to help my students learn and grow. I am a passionate, life-long learner myself!
Biography
Daniel Strange has performed on a variety of the world’s biggest stages from Carnegie Hall to NBC’s The Today Show as well as with critically acclaimed artists representing multiple genres including Jodi Benson, Susan Egan, Robert Davi, The Mills Brothers, Michael Feinstein, Ann Hampton Calloway, Rachel York, Lindsay Mendez, Tony award nominee Norm Lewis, folk legend Noel Paul Stookey and two-time Tony award winner Sutton Foster. He has played in orchestra pits for the national touring companies of Wicked, Jersey Boys, Pippin, Les Miserables, West Side Story, Dreamgirls, Young Frankenstein, Legally Blonde, and A Chorus Line. As a composer, Daniel has written, arranged and orchestrated for numerous musical settings including jazz, pop, choral, and orchestral ensembles from all over the country.
Daniel is the director of contemporary keyboard studies at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music and directs the Music Media and Industry department's top ensemble, the American Music Ensemble, which received the 2015 DownBeat Magazine award for outstanding performance by a collegiate blues/pop/rock ensemble. He has presented clinics on original composition, solo jazz piano and spoken on numerous panels at many national music conferences including the Jazz Education Network Conference, The Intersection of Jazz and Classical Music Piano Festival and Competition, and The Association of Popular Music Education Conference. In the spring of 2014, Daniel was named a quarter finalist for the 2nd annual Grammy Music Educator Award.
Daniel is the director of the award-winning Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ Community Arts Program’s All-Star Jazz Ensemble, a three-time finalist in Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival. Under his leadership, the All-Star Jazz Ensemble has released an album, With A Swing! as well as opened for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Count Basie Orchestra, Grammy winning vocalist Catherine Russell, famed Tonight Show Bandleader Doc Severinsen, Jazz at Lincoln Center musicians Sherman Irby and Vincent Gardner, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Daniel can be heard on his album Life As I Hear It that features his original compositions and an all-star of lineup of musicians as well as on multiple albums including the Grammy nominated track "All My Tomorrows" from Jeremy Fox's With Love. He resides in Miami with his wife, violinist Ashley Liberty, along with their son and daughter, Harrison and Summer.Honors & Acknowledgements
Professional Experience
Career Highlights
- Musical Director or Accompanist for Norm Lewis, Sutton Foster, Lindsay Mendez, Noel Paul Stookey, Rachel York, Michael Feinstein, Ann Hampton Calloway, Storm Large, Mark O’Connor
- Performed on Keyboards and/or Backup Vocals for the National Touring Companies of Wicked, Jersey Boys, Les Miserables, Pippin, Dream Girls, West Side Story, Legally Blonde, Young Frankenstein, A Chorus Line
- Performances as the pianist with the Naples Philharmonic, Nu Deco Ensemble, YoungArts Week (National), Klezmer Company Orchestra
- A 12-time guest artist at the annual Windham Chamber Singers Concert “An American Family Holiday as well as the accompanist for the Windham Chamber Singers at Carnegie Hall and NBC’s The Today Show
Honors and Awards
- 2015 DownBeat Student Award for Outstanding Performance (Undergraduate) for Blues/Pop/Rock Ensemble - Director; The Frost School of Music’s American Music Ensemble (AME)
- Pianist on 2015 Grammy Nominated Recording/Track “All My Tomorrows” featuring Kate McGarry. From Jeremy Fox’s With Love
- 2015 Grammy Music Educator Award – Quarter Finalist
- 2013, 2014 and 2015 Essentially Ellington Finalist – Director of the CAP All-Star Jazz Ensemble – 10 Outstanding Awards and 2 Honorable Mentions
- 2007 Excellence in Music Award – University of Southern Maine – Highest Award for Graduating Senior
Recordings (Selected)
As A Leader
- Life As I Hear It, Self-Released, 2012
- Snapshot, Bada Beep Records, 2010
As A Director/Sideman/Composer/Arranger/Engineer
- With Love, Self-released, 2014 – Jeremy Fox
- All My Tomorrows nominated for 2015 Grammy Award; Best Arrangement – Instruments and Vocals
- Holiday Snapshot, Pine Point Records, 2013 – Windham Chamber Singers
- Composer, Arranger and Engineer; An American Family Holiday, O Holy Night
- Namesake, Bada Beep Records, 2010 – Stephen Guerra Big Band
