Daniel Grabois is Professor of Horn at the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he performs in the Wisconsin Brass Quintet and serves as the Curator of SoundWaves, a series he created that combines science lectures with music performances. The former Chair of Contemporary Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, Grabois now serves as Director of the Electro-Acoustic Research Space (EARS), a facility which he founded with funding from a UW2020 large-equipment grant. Grabois is also the hornist in the Meridian Arts Ensemble, a New York City based brass quintet founded in 1987. With Meridian, he has performed over one hundred world premieres, released fifteen CDs, received two ASCAP/CMA Adventuresome Programming Awards, and toured worldwide, in addition to recording or performing with rock legends Duran Duran and Natalie Merchant and performing the music of Frank Zappa for the composer himself. Grabois has also created numerous arrangements and compositions for Meridian. A freelance musician from 1989 to 2011, Grabois performed with most of the classical music ensembles in New York City, including the Metropolitan Opera, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York City Opera, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra. He appeared on numerous recordings of classical music, rock, and jazz, and played in Broadway pits (some 36 shows, in thousands of performances). In 2025, Grabois released his third solo album, Earth Names, for horn, piano, and cello. His second solo album, Fire Names, comprised a 45-minute piece he composed for horn and tape. His first album in the set, Air Names, featured his own compositions for electronic horn, and the final album in the set, featuring his works for horn and electronics, Water Names, was released in 2025. Grabois’ compositions, including four etude books and numerous chamber and solo works, are published by Wave Front Music. In addition to his work as a horn player, composer, arranger, and electronic musician, Grabois is also an avid woodworker and practitioner of martial arts. Grabois is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
