Bio
Steve Danyew’s music has been hailed as “startlingly beautiful” and “undeniably well crafted and communicative” by the Miami Herald, and has been praised as possessing “sensitivity, skill and tremendous sophistication” by the Kansas City Independent.
Danyew is the recipient of numerous national and international awards, including the coveted BMI Student Composer Award, 1st prize in the 2008 Ithaca Choral Composition Competition, Winner of the 2009 Octarium Choral Prize, Winner of the 2009 Delaware Valley Chorale Award, Winner of the 2010 Brighton Bands Fanfare Competition, Winner of the 2011 Keene State College Composition Competition, 1st Prize in the 2010 Shoreline Chorale “Celebrating Connecticut Composers” Competition, 3rd prize in the 2010 Wegmans/Penfield Wind Ensemble Composition Contest, Runner-up in the 2009 Sacra Profana Competition, Regional Winner in the 2008 SCI/ASCAP National Student Composers Competition, 2nd prize in the 2006 APSU National Young Composers Competition, and four time finalist in the ASCAP Morton Gould Awards. Most recently, Danyew was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2010 ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Competition for wind ensemble works.
Acclaimed choral ensemble Octarium recently released “On Green Mountains” in their CD recording entitled “Modern Masters,” which also features the works of Morten Lauridsen, Eric Whitacre, and more. After a CD release performance, the Kansas City Independent wrote: “The piece that stood out most on this program was the dazzling On Green Mountains by Steve Danyew…a seven-minute gem of sensitivity, skill and tremendous sophistication, fully worthy to appear on a program of the best living American choral composers.”
Steve received a B.M. cum laude, Pi Kappa Lambda from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and holds an M.M. and Certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music. Additionally, Danyew has served as a Composer Fellow at the Yale Summer Music School with Martin Bresnick, and as a Composer Fellow at the Composers Conference in Wellesley, MA with Mario Davidovsky. After serving as a Composer Fellow, Danyew was unanimously selected by the Amateur Musicians’ Committee at the Composers Conference to serve as the commissioned composer for the following year. Danyew has presented lectures and presentations on his music at the Eastman School of Music, Clarke University, Keene State College, and at venues in Miami (FL), Coral Gables (FL), West Palm Beach (FL), Westminster (MA), Kansas City (KS), and Lawrence (KS).
As a saxophonist, Danyew has garnered numerous awards and prizes spanning several genres. After a performance of his own work, the South Florida Sun Sentinel proclaimed him a “saxophone virtuoso par excellence, making the instrument sing as well as shout.” He has studied saxophone with Chien-Kwan Lin, Dale Underwood, Angela Space, Cindy Cripps, Ed Xiques, and jazz greats Vinnie Dean and Tony LaVorgna.
Danyew co-founded and serves as Co-Artistic Director of the Westminster Chamber Music Workshop, a one week music workshop for amateur singers and instrumentalists. Danyew also serves as an Editor of the orchestral music site Polyphonic.org, where he manages the newly established Polyphonic On Campus section – a career resource section for students and young professionals. In addition to the above projects and his composition activities, Danyew maintains a private teaching studio and also teaches saxophone at Fitchburg State University in Fitchburg, MA.
To hear audio samples of recent compositions, and to purchase sheet music, click here.