https://gildedmusicpress.com/

Celebrated as "The Haydn of the Brass Quintet," Daniel N. Thrower has masterfully composed over 100 original brass quintet works.  Included among various prizes and awards for his compositions, “Lewis and Clark Trail” and “On the Air,” both for brass quintet, were awarded “Best Small Ensemble Composition” of 2019 and 2022 respectively by the United States Air Force. Additionally, Dr. Thrower won second place in the prestigious International Trumpet Guild Composition Contest of 2006.  In 2017 three of Thrower’s pieces were premiered at the ITG Conference in Hershey, PA. As an award-winning composer, Dr. Thrower has been commissioned by many ensembles and organizations to compose new music.  Some such institutions include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet, Disney on Ice, America’s Freedom Festival (Provo, Utah), Phoenix Chamber Brass, Hickman Music Editions, Provo Arts Council, cartoonist Mike Smith, the CEU Concert Band, the San Antonio Symphonic Band, various fanfares and feature pieces for several Air Force ensembles, and the International Trumpet Guild.

He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University in 2007 under the tutelage of Regents Professor David Hickman.  Prior to his doctoral studies, he earned his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from Brigham Young University. Dr. Thrower has taught at Brigham Young University (BYU), BYU-Idaho, The College of Eastern Utah, Utah Valley University, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Utah State University-Eastern. With his undying passion for teaching, his life's ambition is to complete a 15-volume trumpet method titled "Comprehensive Trumpet Skills." As of 2024, seven of those volumes totaling over 1300 pages are complete and available for intense study.

In 2011 Dr. Thrower fulfilled a childhood dream by joining the United States Air Force Band of the West in San Antonio, TX, where he performed expertly for nearly 20 million live and broadcast audience members during the course of four years in six states.  He was transferred to Offutt Air Force Base to the Heartland of America Band in 2015 and in 2023 he was sent to Japan to serve for three years in 36 countries.

More than 150 of Dr. Thrower’s compositions and pedagogical works are available through many publishers and distributors. Besides brass quintet, his other works include unaccompanied trumpet, trumpet ensemble, brass trio, brass choir, concert band, and his Concerto for Trumpet with full symphony orchestra.  His specialty and preferred medium is brass quintet. After reviewing several of Thrower’s works, the accomplished composer and Juilliard professor, Eric Ewazen, wrote, “It’s a pleasure to hear your music! … You get some beautiful and exciting gestures…  It all sounds wonderful—I wish you great and continued success in your performance and composing!”

In his own words, Thrower’s compositions comprise a “personal musical journal.”  He strongly believes in creating music that is both artistically sound and appealing for audiences to experience.  He describes his distinctly Thrower-flavored style as Americana Neo-Romantic, and he chooses tonalities and sonorities that work well in each medium that he utilizes.

Endorsing the best flugelhorn on the market, Dr. Thrower is a proud Cannonball Performing Artist.