
*3 June 1946
Born in Los Angeles in 1946, composer-conductor-flutist Daniel Kessner received his Ph.D. with Distinction at The University of California, Los Angeles, in 1971. Composing in all genres, including works for orchestra, wind ensemble, choir, the opera, and numerous chamber and solo pieces, his more than 175 compositions have received over 950 performances worldwide, and 28 works are recorded commercially. His scores are available from Theodore Front Musical Literature at www.tfront.com. Kessner’s most important awards include the 1972 Queen Marie-José International Composition Prize in Geneva, two BMI Composer Awards, one of three winners of the competition “New Works for Music Theater” in Amsterdam in 1981, a 2003 Fulbright Senior Scholar Award to lecture and perform at the Musikhochschule in Trossingen, Germany, a Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant to perform and lecture in Trondheim, Norway in 2007, and a similar residency at the Universidade do Minho in Portugal in 2011.
Although it is difficult to describe one’s own musical style, I would say that my music is a merging of contemporary and traditional sounds and compositional practices, guided by a sensitivity to and extensive knowledge of the instruments (which comes from having played almost all of them). In many works, there is a clear influence of jazz and of traditional Japanese music. My career as a composer, performer, and conductor has been divided fairly equally between the US and Europe, having participated in numerous festivals and concert series in France, Italy, England, The Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, The Czech Republic, Romania, Norway, El Salvador, Canada, Spain, Portugal, and the US. A major aspect of my musical activities has been presenting flute & piano recitals (including alto & bass flutes) as the Duo Kessner, with my wife Dolly Eugenio Kessner.