Donal Fox

{{for|the New Jersey politician|Donal C. Fox}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Donal Fox

| image =

| caption = Donal Fox performing at Greene Space, New York

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1952|07|17}}

| birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

| genre = Jazz, classical, Latin

| occupation = Musician, composer

| instrument = Piano

| years_active =

| label = New World, Evidence, Music & Arts, Passin' Thru, Wergo

| associated_acts =

| website = {{URL|donalfox.com}}

}}

Donal Fox (born July 17, 1952) is an American composer, pianist and improviser in the jazz and classical genres. He was the first African-American composer-in-residence with the St. Louis Symphony (1991–1992).{{cite news |last1=Wierzbicki |first1=James |date=1992-01-15 |title=Classical Artists Show A Bent For Improvisation |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/SL/lib00171,0EB04D85CF7CAE67.html |language=English |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |location=St. Louis, MO |url-access=subscription |quote=THE BIG surprise on Monday evening's Discovery concert at the Sheldon came at the very end, when composer/pianist Donal Fox led a half-dozen members of the St. Louis Symphony in a collective improvisation. Improvisation used to be a matter of course for musicians of classical bent. But in this age of specialization, off the cuff performance is left largely to jazzers, rockers and church organists, and orchestral musicians seldom do anything but read whatever notes are set before...}}{{cite news |last1=Wierzbicki |first1=James |date=1992-10-21 |title=Musicians Savor Freedom's Discipline By Rendering Spirited Improvisation |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/SL/lib00171,0EB04DD5A4B3EF65.html |language=English |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |location=St. Louis, MO |url-access=subscription |quote=The complex and often hauntingly expressive vocal part that Antoine Wallace contributed to the third piece on Monday evening's Discovery concert contained but a single word. Freedom, he whispered after the instrumental music had boiled to its climax. And with those two syllables - extended, softened, shaped into a conclusive descending phrase - he summarized one of the most important steps the St. Louis Symphony has lately taken. Freedom in music, as composer Donal Fox told...}}

In 1993 he was a visiting artist at Harvard University.{{cite web| url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1993/11/18/jazztalk-improvisation-and-funny-hats-in/ |title=Jazztalk, Improvisation, and Funny Hats in the Quad |publisher=thecrimson.com |access-date=2020-02-13}} From 2009–2011, he was Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.{{cite web| url=https://mlkscholars.mit.edu/dfox/ |title=Donal Fox, Music and Theater Arts – Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars |publisher=mlkscholars.mit.edu |access-date=2019-03-14}} Donal Fox is a Steinway Artist.{{cite web| url=https://www.steinway.com/artists/donal-fox |title=Donal Fox - Steinway & Sons |publisher=steinway.com |access-date=2020-02-13}}

Fox's works have been performed at Carnegie Hall. The concerto "Peace Out" for Improvised Piano and Orchestra was premiered at Zankel Hall in 2009, where Fox was the piano soloist.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/arts/music/02composers.html |title=Navajo, Jesuit and Jazz for Orchestra |work=The New York Times |date=December 2009 |access-date=2020-02-13|last1=Tommasini |first1=Anthony }} "Peace Out" was commissioned and performed by the American Composers Orchestra. His piece, "Hear De Lambs A-Cryin," was performed at Stern Auditorium in 2011 by the Albany Symphony Orchestra.{{cite web| url=https://www.npr.org/2011/05/10/136137600/spring-for-music-albany-symphony |title=Spring for Music: Albany Symphony |website=NPR.org |publisher=npr.org |access-date=2020-02-13}}