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Zachary C Daniels

Composer, Conductor, Educator, and Entrepreneur

Zachary C Daniels is a Mexican-American composer, conductor, and sound artist currently residing in Oklahoma City with his wife Ashlie. He earned his DMA in Composition in 2019 from the University of Oklahoma School of Music where he served as composition area GA, running the composition department's events, day-to-day activities, and more for 5 years. His compositions are energetic, imaginitive, and cinematic in nature - he is a symphonist, a student of minimalism, and known to his experimentalism. Works such as Service, Please! or Nocturne for Dice have been performed at national conferences, while pieces such as Time Will Decide for Wind Ensemble have won regional awards. Invited lectures have included work on extended flute techniques, his upcoming book, Polyphinite, and his work on the Davidovsky Synchronisms modernization project. Dr. Daniels currently teaches Music Theory at Oklahoma City University, and Oklahoma City Community College. He teaches composition privately and at local colleges and universities, and is a regular guest clinician for orchestras of all levels across the region.

Daniels is an expressive and energetic conductor, giving empassioned performances of his own work as well as concert hall mainstays. He has worked with artists such as Kyle Dillingham, Tess Remy-Schumaker, Lucas Ross, David Hays, and many young artists in a variety of settings including the Oklahoma premiere of Grazyna Bacewitz's Piano Concerto, and the world premiere of Ed Knight's Flickering Fiddle and Kyle Dillingham's Homa. Zach currently conducts the Oklahoma Community Orchestra, and directs the OCCC String Ensemble.

This website hosts many features including, but not limited to: a full catalog of compositions to date, an up-to-date events list, access to recordings and biographies, and a personal blog, Fragments where I post things about my life as a composer and conductor.

Research is another frequent activity for Zach in fields including American music, extended technique, improvisatory music, and several composers' work such as Elliot Carter and John Cage. His primary research endeavors are currently aimed at "Polyphinite," a new method of composing music in the 21st century for which he is working on his first book.

Zach also runs Divisi Labs, a company featuring services for music transcription, web development, music publishing, and other creative endeavors. This website, and others like it, are hosted using software by Divisi Labs called 'Polyphony' that aims to make life as a composer easier.

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Recent Projects

News

Prayer for Peace Premiere
May 16, 2022

The Oklahoma Chamber Symphony will perform a free benefit concert for Ukraine on Saturday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church, located at 2424 N.W. 50th St. To include "Prayer for Peace" by Zachary Daniels. Full Story: https://kfor.com/news/local/oklahoma-chamber-symphony-hosting-benefit-concert-for-ukraine/

Oklahoma Skies
April 04, 2022

Oklahoma Skies, a night of Experimental Music, will take place this summer (exact date TBD) at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center and will be helmed by Zachary Daniels. The concert will feature works by local composers focusing on experimental music.

inner sOUndscapes
March 07, 2022

Zach's fixed media piece, "Service, Please!" has been selected for inclusion at the inner sOUndscapes: Alumni and Friends concert this April in Norman, OK.

Recycled Material at CMS Northwest 2022
February 01, 2022

Zach's Fixed Media piece, "Recycled Material" will be included at the March 2022 CMS Northwest Conference.

Service, Please! at NYCEMF
January 10, 2022

Zach's fixed media piece, "Service, Please!" has been selected for inclusion at the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival this June!

A Minimal Journey Premiere
January 01, 2022

A Minimal Journey will be performed at the Missouri Music Educator's Association Reading Session run by MoASTA at the End of January, then premiered to the public in Oklahoma on February 20th, followed by a Missouri Premiere in May.

Upcoming Events

UCO Faculty Artist Series: Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher
Thursday, April 18th, 2024
7:30 pm CDT
Pieces Included
Olivers Lullaby
CMS Northeast
Saturday, March 23rd, 2024
8:00 am CDT
Pieces Included
Periapsis
CMS South Central
Thursday, March 14th, 2024
12:00 pm CDT
Details
I'll be presenting my work "Free Flute!" as well as my paper, "The Granularity of Palindromes"
Pieces Included
Free Flute!
Jerry Herman: The Broadway Legacy Concert
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2024
7:30 pm CST
Event Page...
UCO Faculty Artist Series: Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher
Sunday, January 21st, 2024
4:00 pm CST
Pieces Included
Olivers Lullaby