~ Daniel Leo Simpson ~
"An American Composer With a Flair For
Creating 'Contagious' Music. . ."
Daniel Leo Simpson,
an American Composer with a flair for
creating "contagious" and engaging music, specializes
in unusual, interesting and dynamic works of every genre. From concerti and symphonies to
commercials and film music, he is distinguishing himself as unique in his field.
He has had extensive music training, having studied under such esteemed American composers as
Robert McBride and Robert Muczynski and has taught privately as well as extensively in the public
school systems, most recently, the Palo Alto Unified School District where his wife, Mary Simpson also
teaches and where he has coached other teachers in the Palo Alto district's music office on their Staff
Professional Days. Mr. Simpson holds a Masters degree in Theory and
Composition from the University of Arizona in addition to holding both Elementary and Music
Teaching Credentials from Arizona State University and a K-12 California State Teaching Credential (with music
endorsement) and has taught in all classroom settings from kindergarten through junior college.
He moved to California in 1990 and was accepted at the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles,
where under the tutelage of Henry Mancini, Bill Conti, Joe Harnel, Allyn Ferguson and other master craftsman,
he studied the art of writing music for motion pictures.
There he worked as a commissioned artist creating music for featured films, television talk shows,
documentaries and commercials all while
also working as a substitute teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District which included a long term
position in Pacific Palisades at Temescal Canyon Continuation Senior High School
with students facing special challenges.
Currently he is studying the Schillinger System of Musical Composition with
Boston's Berklee School of Music alumnus, Philip DiTullio of the
Schillinger Society.
Mr. Simpson has also received recognition for his expertise in computer music software, gaining the praise and
confidence of such notables as Carlos Rodriquez with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tom "Bones" Malone from Paul
Shaffer's CBS Orchestra with the David Letterman Show, Akira Endo of the Miami City Ballet and guest conductor for
the San Francisco Ballet among others.
Some of his commissioned works have already been premiered in the San Francisco Bay area
while others are presently being prepared to be showcased by Bay area musicians. His Poéme for Cello and Orchestra was performed at the Mountain View Center for the Performing
Arts by the El Camino Youth Symphony with world renowned cellist Michail Gelfandbein as soloist.
Most recently, Mr. Simpson’s composition “Nocturne - A Poem for Symphonic Orchestra” has been
selected as a winning composition from over 500 entries to be included in the soon to be released ERMMedia
CD “MASTERWORKS OF THE NEW ERA" and will be recorded by the Grammy Award-Winning Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
under the baton of esteemed conductor Maestro Robert Ian Winstin, then released
with over 625 outlets with worldwide distribution through Naxos.
In addition, his piece for Violin & Orchestra entitled Soliloquy has been chosen from among nearly 600 submissions
as having been chosen for the upcoming ERMMedia CD MILLENNIUM PROJECT: MADE IN THE AMERICAS! (See letter here)
Mr. Simpson currently and happily, resides with his wife, Silicon Valley Palo Alto music teacher Mary Helen Simpson, in the San Francisco Bay area.
"If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy,
I seek after these things..."
"...out of small things, proceedeth that which is great..."
"What I have achieved by industry and practice, anyone else with tolerable natural gift and ability can also achieve."
J.S. Bach
Listen to His Most Recent Compositions
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NOTE: Every piece on this site is available on the "Daniel Leo Simpson: Collected Works
2-CD Set" to be played in any CD-Rom drive and includes a special Table of Contents indexed with
HTML links to all selections (Windows only).
In addition to all the MIDI files contained in this website, it also includes MP3 files of all selections as
well as scores and available performance parts in Adobe Acrobat Reader's easy to read and print PDF format
(over 2,200 pages of music!). Print as many as you like and follow along with the audio or use freely
for your own performance or performance group. The Mp3 files contained on this Double-CD Set
considerably improve the sound of the MIDI files found on this site. You will not be disappointed
with this purchase. Satisfaction is guaranteed.
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Chronological Catalog Of Works
The Law of the Arts
Quips, Quotes and Journal Entries
Thousands of pages of Classical Sheet Music on CD.....under $20!
~ The Composer & His Lovely Wife ~
(Photo by James Thorpe)
Contact the Composer
Mr. Simpson's compositions are distributed world-wide
through
Copy-us Verlags GmbH in Kleve, Germany.
Contact Mr. Simpson's publisher
The Classical Archives, LLC.