Daniel Koontz
I excerpted the title of my piece Soft Stillness and the Night from Shakespeare:
Here we will sit, and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
The Merchant of Venice (V, i)
The piece is subtle and delicate, arising from sonic fantasies of night and dawn. It was commissioned by Strike and is dedicated to Jeff Meyer and Paul Vaillancourt. [D.K.]
Born in Lafayette, Indiana, composer Daniel W. Koontz teaches music at Stony Brook University. Trained as a pianist, Dan attended the Eastman School of Music and went on to complete a Ph.D. in Music Composition at Stony Brook University. Winner of numerous awards for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and commissions from the Fromm Foundation and Swarthmore College, Dan composes every morning in his Sag Harbor, New York home. He frequently performs as a blues guitarist and with his family band Edna’s Kin. Dan’s 14 year old son Bo has recently joined the band on drums. Sunday mornings find Dan playing the pipe organ at Christ Church in Sag Harbor.
Dan is currently at work on a percussion trio for Timetable. Listen to his other work at http://www.danielkoontz.com.