Instructor Biography: Daniel Blake
DANIEL BLAKE has developed a wide-ranging career as a contemporary composer and performer that “regards tradition as a welcoming playground best approached with a sense of wonder and adventure” (The Boston Globe).  Dubbed a “virtuoso” by The New York Times, Blake has released three critically acclaimed albums and has recorded and toured with leading jazz artists Esperanza Spalding, Anthony Braxton, Kenny Werner, and Danilo Pérez.  He has written chamber and orchestral works for leading ensembles in contemporary music, most recently the acclaimed Mivos Quartet and the Tri Centric Orchestra.  A passion for social justice has led to his founding and producing the annual Concert To Feed The Hungry, which raises funds and awareness for poor communities around the world afflicted by hunger and malnutrition.  Dan Blake holds a PhD in composition from the City University of New York and is currently on faculty at The New School and Brooklyn College.