Daniel Gordon

Daniel Gordon is a Professor of Music at Plattsburgh State University of New York, where he teaches studio saxophone, directs the Symphonic Band, and teaches various classroom courses. He is founder, President, and Music Director of the Adirondack Wind Ensemble, a professional wind orchestra that consists primarily of music educators from around upstate New York. He is also a founding member of the Frontier Saxophone Quartet and the Metamusic Trio (saxophone, violin, and piano), both comprised of performers from the Plattsburgh region and Montreal. He has served as Music Director of the McGill University Wind Symphony and the Adirondack Youth Orchestra.

Gordon’s performing credits as a saxophonist or conductor include appearances at Alice Tully Hall and Bruno Walter Auditorium at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; the American Embassy in Paris; the Circle of Fine Arts in Madrid; Kuhmo Chamber Music Hall, Tampere-Talo, Mikkeli’s Martti Talvela Hall, and the Turku Concert House in Finland; Pollack and Redpath Halls in Montreal; and several smaller venues in Canada, Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the U.S.

Composing is a new activity for Gordon. He was inspired to write Old McDonald Concerto by the idea of concertos for beginning players. Beginners deserve to experience the thrill of being a concerto soloist just like older and more experienced players. Old McDonald Concerto is Gordon's first piece. He had so much fun writing it that he composed three more little chamber pieces, each with a decidedly different flavor.