MASKE, DAN (b. 1971)

Composer Dan Maske was born in West Allis, Wisconsin in 1971, being nurtured in music by two musician parents, Margo Krumnow and David Maske. Dan’'s early musical background includes starting piano lessons at age 9, where he studied with Jerry Spang for eight years. He also started trumpet in school band at about the same time. Maske continued studying piano and trumpet through college. In addition, he learned to play drumset and has kept up with occasional performances and recording sessions on that instrument.

 

Composer Dan Maske holds B.A. and M.M. degrees in music theory/composition from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a D.M.A. in music composition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His works include a variety of chamber, symphonic, and some electronic compositions which have been performed around the world. He has received commissions from artists such as the Skyline Brass, the Umpqua Chamber Orchestra (Oregon), the St. Norbert College Wind Ensemble, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra - Junior Wind Ensemble, the UWM Youth Wind Ensemble, and the UW-La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, among others. See the RECORDINGS page on this site for information on his recorded compositions.

 

Dan is also a founding member of the chamber rock ensemble Far Corner, a quartet in which he serves as composer and keyboardist, with occasional duties on percussion. The group’'s recordings have been released on the Cuneiform Records label.

 

Maske has taught private lessons in composition, piano, trumpet, and drumset, and has been a classroom teacher of subjects such as music theory, music technology, orchestration, and progressive rock. He is currently a faculty member of Cardinal Stritch University, a liberal arts college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he teaches music theory composition. Dan has also taught at Edgewood College (Madison, Wisconsin), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, he performs on piano, trumpet, and drumset in a variety of musical styles, and has also worked as an editor and author for Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest music publisher. His instructional book Progressive Rock Keyboard is available from local and online retails everywhere. Visit the Hal Leonard web site for more information, sample pages, and sound samples from the accompanying CD.