Tuscaloosa Tango goes to the People's Republic of China! Prof. Luke Chih, Conductor, Composer and Arranger who was recently invited by China's Hu-nan Symphony Orchestra to conduct
a concert for American Compositions, has selected the Maestro's "TUSCALOOSA TANGO" to be programed
for their end of April 2010 concert at Zhengzhou, Henan, in the People's Republic of China.
The Composer is invited to lecture at the University of Tennessee, Chattoonoga
An Honorium is secured for him to Lecture to the Advanced Theory classes
Click HERE.
TUSCALOOSA TANGO Wins!!!
Daniel Léo Simpson is this year's winner of the annual Alabama Orchestra Association's
composition competition. His work, "Tuscaloosa Tango," will be performed at the 2010 Alabama All-State
Orchestra Festival as composer in residence.
Click HERE.
The Composer's music chosen for DVD release!
Maestro Simpson's submission for Thomas Edison's 1904(!) silent film classic "Maniac Chase"choosen from over 650 submissions!
To read letter and watch sample video click HERE.
"Soliloquy for Violin & Orchestra" selected from over 500 entries!
Maestro Simpson's composition Soliloquy for Violin & Orchestra chosen from nearly 600 submissions
for the upcoming ERMMedia CD Millennium project: MADE IN THE AMERICAS!
(See letter Here)
"The Art of Schillinger" wins 1st Place in the UK!
Maestro Simpson's composition The Art of Schillinger r3-2
Winner of the First International Schillinger Composition contest
Sponsored by The Schillinger School of Music in the United Kingdom
(See email Here)
"Nocturne for Orchestra" selected from over 300 entries!
Maestro Simpson's composition Nocturne - a Poem for Symphonic Orchestra chosen from over 300 submissions
for the upcoming ERMMedia the Award-Winning CD Project! "Masterworks of the New Era"
(See letter Here)
The Composer completes the Schillinger Course in Rhythm Engineering from the Schillinger Society
Click HERE
All music on this site is Copyright 2008 by Daniel Léo Simpson
All unauthorized reproduction of it's contents is strictly forbidden without
permission of the composer
"An American Composer With a Flair For
Creating 'Contagious' Music. . ."
Daniel Léo 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.
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 recorded by the Grammy Award-Winning Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
under the baton of esteemed conductor Maestro Robert Ian Winstin, with over 625 outlets of 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)
He won First prize in the First Annual International Schillinger Composition Contest for his composition "The Art of Schillinger", composed wholly using Schillinger techniques and sponsored by The Schillinger School of Music in conjunction with the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
His entry “Tuscaloosa Tango”, has been selected as the winner of the 2010 Alabama Orchestra Association Composition Competition which includes an all-expense paid invitation as composer in residence to attend the 2010 All-State Festival on February 11th-14th in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, participate in the Meet the Composer aspect of the Festival, and work closely with the conductor and ensemble that is premiering his work.
Most recently, Mr. Simpson’s music was chosen from over 650 entries for an opportunity to score the 1904 Thomas Edison silent
film classic, “Maniac Chase” and will be released on DVD next year.
Daniel currently and happily resides with his wife, Palo Alto music teacher Mary Helen Simpson, in the San Francisco Bay area.
Daniel Léo Simpson ~ Composer
"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
NOTE: Every piece on this site is available on the "Daniel Léo 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.
The Classical Archives LLC, the largest archive of its kind on the web,
offer thousands of classical music files in MIDI and Mp3 format you can
listen to at the click of your mouse. Most composers are represented.
A major award-winning cultural site which provides its own indexes and
search engines by keywords or composer.Daniel Léo Simpson has his own page of his compositions in MIDI and MP3 file format at
the Classical Archives. Click HERE
to open a new browser window to that page now
Search the LA Phil’s classical music directory
to learn about composers, classical artists and classical music works.
Daniel Léo Simpson has his
own page of his compositions in MIDI file format at Kunst der Fuge. Click HERE
to open a new browser window to that page now.
16,415 *FREE* Classical MIDI and MP3/OGG files, large fugue Lists, Theory, Reviews, Tools, and special Pages on J.S. Bach and Beethoven. An Alessandro Simonetto music site.
My page on Songwriting
Note: Daniel Léo Simpson was selected in 1969 and 1970 to travel to Europe with the All-Student Band USA under the direction of Paul Noble from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music for a six week tour of Europe with a group of selected high school students from across the United States.
He would love to contact any others who he met as a result of that tour. Please email or Facebook:
Gift Before The Altar physical CD now available for purchase at Amazon.com!
The Classical Archives, LLC.
