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Daniel Strong Godfrey

Daniel S. Godfrey (b. 1949) received his graduate degrees in composition from Yale University and the University of Iowa. He is Professor and Chair in of the Music Department as well as Coordinator for Creative Practice Leadership graduate program at Northeastern University’s College or Arts, Media and Design. Prior to his appointment at Northeastern in August 2015, Godfrey was Professor of Music Composition, Theory and History at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music, where also he served variously as Director of the School of Music, Composer-in-Residence and chair of the Department of Composition.

He has also held guest faculty appointments in composition at the Eastman School of Music and the Indiana University School of Music.

Godfrey has earned awards and commissions from the J. S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm Music Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Bogliasco Foundation, the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, among many others. His music has been performed by distinguished soloists, chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the U.S. and abroad. He is founder and co-director of the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music (on the Maine coast) and is co-author of Music Since 1945, published by Schirmer Books.

Godfrey’s works are recorded on Albany, CRI, GM, Innova, Klavier, Koch, UK Light and Mark compact discs. His music is available through publishers Carl Fischer and G. Schirmer.

 

Research/Publications Highlights

Works performed by the Austin Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Chautauqua Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Springfield Symphony, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, U.S. Marine Band, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Boston Chamber Music Society, Brave New Works, Chicago Ensemble, Collage New Music, Da Capo Chamber Players, Dinosaur Annex, Earplay, Ensemble X, Kentucky Center Chamber Players, Open End, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Sequitur, Society for New Music, SOLI of San Antonio, St. Louis Symphony Chamber Series, VocalEssence, Zeitgeist, and the Cassatt, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, Daedalus, Lark, Manhattan, Miami and Portland string quartets; performances in Canada, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Latin America and throughout the U.S.; performances on over seventy-five college/university campuses in the U.S. and abroad

Professional Affiliations

  • Society for New Music, Advisory Committee, 2015-16, Program Committee, 1992-2015, Vice President, 1988-92, President, 1985-88
  • Member, Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship Advisory Committee, 2012-
  • Member, Board of Directors, New Music USA, 2011-
  • Member, Board of Directors, American Music Center 2010-2011
  • Founding President, Co-Director, Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music, 1994-
  • Music Panelist, New York State Council on the Arts,   1993-96
  • Secretary, American Composers Alliance, Secretary, 1993-96
  • General memberships, current: American Composers Forum, Society of Composers, Inc., College Music Society

Departments

Music

Education

  • Ph.D,University of Iowa
  • M.M,Yale University
  • B.A, Yale University

Awards

  • Commission: Chamber Music America (2013)
  • Commission: Fromm Music Foundation, Harvard University, (2011)
  • Commission: Frank Mallory Fund/National Endowment for the Arts (2009)
  • Fellowship: Rockefeller Foundation,Bellagio Center, Italy (2008)
  • Fellowship: Bogliasco Foundation,Liguria Study Center, Italy (2008)
  • New Yorker: 2007 Ten Best CDs list ,String Quartets on Koch Classics, Cassatt Quartet
  • Fellowship: Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2001-2002)
  • Commission: Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Library of Congress, 2000
  • Commission: Barlow Endowment for Music Commposition (1999)
  • Academy Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters (1998)
  • Commission: Suzuki Association of the Americas (1996)
  • Commission: Maine Arts Commission (1993)
  • Indiana State University/Louisville Orchestra Festival Award (1992)
  • First Prize: US West Foundation/National Repertory Orchestra Competition (1991)
  • Met Life Fellowship: New York Foundation for the Arts (1991)
  • Residency: McDowell Colony (1990)
  • Commission: Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (1988)
  • Residency: Yaddo (1986)
  • Works recorded for Albany, Bridge, CRI, GM, Innova, Klavier, Koch, UK Light and Mark compact discs.
  • Music published by Carl Fischer and G. Schirmer.

Professional Experience

  • Northeastern University, College of Arts, Media and Design, Department of Music, 2015: Professor and Chair
  • Syracuse University School of Music, 1983-2015: Professor, 1994-; Chair, Leadership Team (serving in lieu of director), 2005-2006; Director, 1997-1999 (duties shared in fall 1998 due to visiting appointment listed below); Interim Director, Fall 1996; chair of composition and theory, 1989-91, 1984-88; head of electronic music studio, 1985-92
  • Eastman School of Music, Spring 2002, Visiting Professor (part-time); Fall 1993, Visiting Associate Professor (part-time)
  • Indiana University School of Music, Fall 1998, Visiting Professor (full-time)
  • University of Pittsburgh, 1981-83, Visiting Assistant Professor

Research Focus

  • Composition
  • Theory and Analysis
  • Contemporary Music
  • World Music

Courses Taught

  • Composition
  • Theory
  • Analysis
  • Counterpoint
  • Orchestration
  • Electronic Music
  • Contemporary Music (history and literature)
  • World Music