Daniel Ernest Forrest Jr. (born January 7, 1978) is an American composer, pianist, educator, and music editor.

Dan Forrest was born in Breesport, New York, and began piano lessons with his elementary school music teacher at age 8.

in Piano Performance, studying advanced theory and composition with Joan Pinkston and Dwight Gustafson.

[7] A review in The Salt Lake Tribune referred to Forrest's "superb choral writing" and gave as an example his arrangement of "The First Noel," which it said was "full of spine-tingling moments.

[15] He is known for his skill in writing melodic lines for all voices and instruments, which he attributes to studying with Alice Parker and James Barnes.

[17] Additionally, his skill as a pianist and his training and experience in instrumentation/orchestration result in accompaniments that are known for their idiomatic writing and effective, impactful, and efficient scoring.