Daniel Rothermel: A Musician With An Outlet

By Zoe Ekeh

As a sound engineer, singer/songwriter, musician and music producer, Cedarville University student Daniel Rothermel devotes his life to creating music. His exposure to music from a young age began with violin and piano lessons at six years old. 

Being a part of musicals since the age of 7 has garnered Rothermel vocal training, as well as being a part of a choir in high school, and singing in church.

With learning instruments such as the violin, piano and organ as well as being in a choir, Rothermel has cultivated a 13-year background with music. 

In 2019 as he was finishing high school, Rothermel was dabbling in sound production on a computer which then led him to write songs.

Now a sophomore majoring in industrial design, Rothermel’s life revolves around music. The thoughts that come into his head throughout the day are turned into songs through the process of songwriting.

“I don’t really write melodies, I just fit them in. It doesn’t even make sense to me when people are trying to figure out what melody belongs – to me, it’s just the one that’s there that should be there and it’s already there,” said Rothermel.

Rothermel recorded and worked on his first album during his freshman year in his dorm. He has created a studio in his dorm room wherever he has stayed on campus. 

As a multi-hyphenate musician, Rothermel plays multiple instruments as mentioned earlier including the guitar, bass guitar and drums. He uses the Logic Pro software system to produce his music and a Focusrite interface and Shure SM7B mic to record his songs.

Samuel Orme, a junior majoring in graphic design, is a close friend of Rothermel’s. They share similar interests in pop culture and music.

“He’s really motivated to release albums and projects, and be able to do as well and not just do it haphazardly but efficiently,” said Orme.

Orme mentions how Rothermel puts thought into the production of music and his albums in their entirety. Orme also states that Rothermel is more productive with his music production compared to other musicians he has observed.

Rothermel’s future with music could be him producing and creating a soundtrack of some sort, or being “a mix engineer and a producer.”

“Hopefully I can play my own music live, at bigger venues. I don’t really have any plan though, I just intend to move forward and continue to develop myself – and be open to new perspectives and make music that connects with people,” Rothermel said.

Zoe Ekeh is a junior Journalism major and writer for Cedars’ Arts and Entertainment section. An Ohio native born and raised in Dayton, Zoe has always loved music.