Daniel Perlongo attended the University of Michigan where he received the B.M. and M.M. degrees studying composition with George Balch Wilson, Leslie Bassett and Ross Lee Finney. With a Fulbright-Hayes Fellowship he continued his studies for two years in Rome at the Academy of St. Cecilia with Gofreddo Petrassi. Mr. Perlongo and his music compositions have received numerous awards, including the American Prix de Rome, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Academy-National Institute of Arts and Letters, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has been resident composer at the Rockefeller Foundation's Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy, and Montalvo center for the Arts in Saratoga, California. In 2003 he received Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Distinguished Faculty Award for the Creative Arts, where he taught for over 40 years and is now emeritus professor.
Mr. Perlongo's orchestral music, noted for its sensitive lyricism and unique instrumental combinations, has earned him international recognition. His Seven Pieces was awarded the Joseph Bearns Prize from Columbia University, and Myriad and Ephermeron have been performed by the Italian Radio Orchestra (RAI) of Rome. His Variations for small orchestra has been performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra and the American Composers Orchestra. His Concertino was winner of the Nebraska Sinfonia orchestral competition, and performed by the Nebraska Sinfonia and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble.
Daniel Perlongo's chamber music has been recognized for its finely crafted lyricism and subtle expressiveness. Aureole for saxophone quartet won the New Music for Young Ensembles competition and was premiered at Carnegie Recital Hall. His String Quartet II, performed by the Pro Arte Quartet, was premiered at Carnegie Recital Hall after winning the League of Composers International Society for Contemporary Music competition. Ricercar for wind trio was winner of the International Double Reed Society competition. The Ricercar and Fragments for flute and cello were recorded on Composers Recordings Incorporated (CRI), newly released on New World Records NWCRL453. A CD of his Concerto for piano and orchestra is recorded on Master Musicians Recordings (MMC), with pianist, Donna Coleman and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra of Bratislava, Slovakia. Also released on MMC is Mr. Perlongo's Sunburst for clarinet and orchestra, commissioned by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and recorded by clarinetist, Richard Stoltzman and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.
