Daniel Joseph White

is a freelance composer and orchestrator living in the Inland Northwest. His passion is in composing rich, classically-inspired music for film and other media, and his expertise is in balanced orchestration. Though he was classically trained on the violin, his taste is wide-ranging, giving him an ear that can weave together the old and the new into a unique sound.

Personal Bio

I'm an orchestral music nerd. From Beethoven's 5th to Dvorak's New World Symphony to John Williams's film scores, if it involves the orchestra manifesting its magic, I'm a fan. It probably has something to do with my dad blasting classical music from his giant Klipsch speakers in the living room during my childhood. Whatever the cause, I've had an obsession with the versatility of tone, timbre, resonance, dynamics—and every other applicable adjective to describe the orchestra—for as long as I can remember.

I remember hearing Richard Strauss's Alpine Symphony for the first time and quite literally having my hair blown back during the section depicting the storm. Growing up in the southern United States, I was able to experience first hand the epic chaos of a midsummer "thunderboomer" as my mom would call it and Strauss's depiction was like having a soundtrack to accompany the experience. Later, in my teens I would listen to Dvorak's New World Symphony countless times trying to grasp each detail of the orchestration with clarity. From the intricate woodwinds in the second movement, to the roaring brass of the fourth movement, I wanted to aurally capture everything.

With time, what began as a fascination with "musical fireworks" (the bigger the boom, the better) grew to a broader yet intimate appreciation of the orchestra as a medium of portrayal. A tool in the hands of a builder, a pen in the hands of a writer, an instrument in the hands of a composer.

I can't say when exactly I decided to be a composer. I have no memory of a specific day or turning point in which I just "knew", but I do know that what began as mere listening for the sake of entertainment grew into a curiosity about craft. With the discovery of music theory around the age of 11 or 12 after my violin teacher observed my interest in the subject and threw some books my way, I was thrilled to learn that there was indeed a method to all the madness! Though I can't say I exactly devoured the books initially either. It wasn't until after a couple years of getting over my frustration with the headiness of everything that I really began to put things together and realize that all this theory could be used to "choose my own adventure".

And let me tell you, those first adventures were garbage.

You'd think that being a student of the violin would intuit the limits of what a bowed instrument can play, but thirteen year old Daniel wanted to compose virtuosic music. I don't think I still have the sheet music for those earliest compositions, but if I did, I wouldn't show them to you.

It's hard to say exactly why I kept composing. Sometimes I would strike a vein and find something precious. Sometimes if I didn't keep composing, I would feel guilty for not continuing to explore the world of music as if I were missing out on something. Mostly I found myself stumbling around, attempting to find that elusive sound which, surprise surprise, I still can't pin down. Whatever it was, I found myself always coming back for more. And here we are. The pattern hasn't changed much, aside from the fact that I can't seem to quit and when I do find another piece of that esoteric puzzle, it only fuels the fire of interest.