Daniel Tacke

Associate Professor of Music at Hillsdale College since 2016, Daniel Tacke teaches theory, musicianship, composition, and harpsichord while coaching student solo and chamber music performances. Previously held professorships at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Arkansas State University.

Educational background:

• B.M. in Composition, Oberlin Conservatory of Music
• M.A. in Music, University of California at San Diego
• Ph.D. in Music, University of California at San Diego

Research focuses on musical memory, instrumental idiom, poetics of notation, and intersections between contemporary/historical composition practices. As a harpsichordist, specializes in historical performance with emphasis on J.S. Bach, directly informing his compositional work. Explores expressive rhetoric of experimental materials and philosophy of notation.

Awards and honors:

• Robert E. Aschaffenburg Grand Prize in Composition
• Advanced Certificate, with Distinction, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music

Member of American Composers Alliance with works performed internationally at major venues in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and abroad. Teaching philosophy centers on developing students' musical engagement and memory to deepen their love of music and enhance performance capabilities.