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 Another highlight of an extensive and varied musical career was the World Cruise on the QE2 in 2001. It was a highlight of an exciting life and of an extensive and varied musical career. While aboard, he played a concert, and composed a musical, The Black Pearl, which was performed by the ship's resident theatre company near the end of the one hundred and four day voyage.
Daniel Abrams' musical life has embraced many aspects of musical creativity. As a performer it ranged from a "debut" at age five with Sammy Kaye and his orchestra (which led to jam sessions with other greats of the big band era, including Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, and Harry James) to solo concert tours throughout Europe, Canada, the United States and South America, to performances with chamber music groups, and as soloist with symphony orchestras. Some highlights included cycles of the complete Mozart piano sonatas (in New York City, Baltimore and Woodstock), the five Beethoven piano concerti with the Baltimore Symphony, and the recording of twelve Beethoven sonatas for Whitehall Records in London (while on a Fullbright Grant in England).
Abrams' compositions cover an equally broad spectrum; from choral, orchestral and chamber works to nine musicals.
During his professorship at Goucher College and The Johns Hopkins University, he taught courses in music history, musical theatre, and the history of jazz. In recent years, his teaching enthusiasm has led to the release of a series of tapes, videos and CD's for Homespun Tapes on music history, improvisation, practice techniques, and beginning piano for adults. (This last series has been specially transcribed for the blind at the request of the music division
of The Library of Congress in Washington, DC.)
Recent performances of Abrams' compositions included his cantata, Women At The Cross, in Wookstock, NY, and a group of piano works based on Shakespeare's sonnets at The Martha Argerich Piano Festival in Lugano, Switzerland. The Musical Portraits From Wagner's Ring was premiered in Europe during the 2007-2008 concert season. The Ring Portraits, along with several other works from the Opera For Piano series, will comprise a program by Daniel Abrams in the 2008-2009 concert series at The Mannes College of Music in New York City. A performance of Abrams' Fantasia on Der Freischutz by Alan Weiss is available on YouTube, along with some of the Shakespeare sonnets.
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