I’m Daniel Erdmann, a composer with a passion for Romantic and Neo-Romantic orchestral music.  Having been a violist for most of my life, I want to give prominence to the viola by creating works that showcase its depth, rich timbre, and expressive capabilities.  My formal education in composition began at St. Olaf College, but my deepest insights into music have come from self-led exploration.  After leaving St. Olaf in 2007, I began teaching myself orchestration through extensive reading and score analysis.  This led to the creation of my Concerto for Viola & Orchestra, which I had the privilege of premiering as the soloist with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in Minneapolis in 2015.

I strive to write music that connects with listeners on a direct and emotional level while having layers of complexity.  Performing with ensembles like the St. Olaf Orchestra and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra has given me a deep understanding and comfort with the language of orchestral music. My compositional style is influenced by the depth and richness of Neo-Romantic and Romantic composers like Samuel Barber, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jean Sibelius, and Gustav Mahler, as well as modern masters such as Arvo Pärt and Henryk Gorecki.  These composers have shaped my musical language, but ultimately my goal is to express myself in a way that is vulnerable and honest in all my music.

I’ve been fortunate to have my compositions performed by ensembles such as the Urthema String Quartet, the Lirica Chamber Ensemble, and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.  As a founding member of the Urthema String Quartet, I contributed numerous original pieces and arrangements for the group.  In 2023, my piece “The Second Coming” for a cappella choir was recorded by Composers’ Choir and is now available on YouTube and SoundCloud. 

After putting composing on hiatus for many years, I began writing again in 2022.  Since then, I have split my time between publishing past works and writing new music.  I am happy to finally share my short list of published pieces on this site. Thank you for visiting and I look forward to sharing future creations with you.