Daniel led the Santa Barbara Chamber Players for the Grace Fisher Foundation Winter Showcase. The Grace Fisher Foundation showcase highlighted local musical groups while raising awareness of their good work bringing equal access to arts education for all, particularly those with disabilities.
Daniel served as a clinician for choirs and vocalists for the second Simpósio de Música In Jundiai, Brazil, hosted by churches in the Assemblies of God denomination.
Daniel has been appointed as Music Director of the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, a youth orchestra with a 57-year history in the Santa Barbara community and with notable alumni both in and out of music. “I am so pleased to welcome Daniel as the new music director for the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony,” said Nicholas Fuentes, vice president/Community Education & Enrichment for the Santa Barbara Symphony. “With his background and experience, we’ll be taking the youth ensembles to new levels by providing educational opportunities that build bridges between musicians of every age," Fuentes said. "The addition of Daniel to our team adds vital support to our vision of providing a continuum of music education to young musicians of all skill levels in the local community.”
The Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers performed at various churches and retirement homes throughout California and Oregon, completing their 2021-2022 performance season.
Daniel led the Westmont College Choir and Orchestra in a performance of the Credo from Bach’s Mass in B minor.
Along with Drs. Michael Shasberger and Grey Brothers, Daniel Gee led the Westmont choirs and orchestra in a historic first performance at the Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara’s premiere performing arts venue. This seventeenth annual Christmas Festival included a world premiere commissioned by the Westmont Orchestra, Divinum Mysterium, in honor of Michael Shasberger’s retirement as Adams Chair of Music and Worship at Westmont College.
Westmont Choirs began their 2021-2022 season welcoming several high school choirs from across California to Westmont’s annual Fall Choral Festival. Participating choirs received coaching from our choral faculty, culminating with a performance at the Music Academy of the West’s exquisite Hahn Hall. The Westmont College Choir finished the concert performing Guastavino’s Arroz Con Leche, Unterseher’s arrangement of Sweet Rivers, and Eric Whitacre’s Cloudburst.
The Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers finished their outdoor recorded season performing in the Keller Plaza, housed in Westmont’s new Global Leadership Center. The College Choir performed works centered around two themes: works by Black American composers and poetry by the 16th century Metaphysical Poets. The Chamber Singers performed a concert cutting across several genres, including renaissance motets, Latin American art song, vocal jazz, and gospel.
Daniel led the Westmont College Choir and Orchestra in an outdoor performance of Gabriel Faure’s Requiem with Christine Hollinger and Michael Shasberger as soloists.
Recently appointed to a tenure track faculty position at Westmont College, Daniel led the Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers, all masked and singing distanced outdoors, in the college’s 16th annual Christmas Festival, joining the Westmont Orchestra for a full concert length broadcasted program.
Recently promoted to the position of Associate Conductor, Daniel will lead Choral Arts Initiative in a live streamed program, featuring the music of Thomas LaVoy and Christina Whitten Thomas.
Daniel is delighted to be joining the Westmont College faculty as Assistant Professor of Music this fall. A tenure-track position, his new role includes both choral and orchestral conducting, leading the College Choir, Chamber Singers, and co-leading the Westmont Orchestra with Adams Chair Dr. Michael Shasberger.
The Long Beach Symphony, joined by the Long Beach All-District High School Honors Choir, performed for over 12,000 students from across the Long Beach School District in their four annual Toyota Youth Concerts. Daniel co-led the orchestra with Music Director Eckart Preu in works by Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Verdi and John Williams.
As part of their annual fall concert, Daniel led Choral Arts Initiative in the West Coast premiere of Andrew Maxfield’s The Door. Other music on the concert, led by Artistic Director Brandon Elliott, included works by Jordan Kuspa, Edie Hill, and Elaine Hagenburg.
Sponsored and hosted by Fieldstead and Company, Inc. Daniel led Choral Arts Initiative in a private concert of choral music by Scottish composer Euan Stevenson. The concert featured several American premieres, including a world premiere commissioned for the concert, Stevenson’s setting of Yeats’ The Clothes of Heaven.
Daniel returns to lead the Global Harmony Symphony of Orange County as Guest Conductor in a program of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. Pianist Somang Jeagal will perform Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto with the orchestra.
Daniel attended the Chorus America Conducting Academy as one of twelve conducting fellows from across the United States and Canada performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the University of Michigan’s historic Hill Auditorium.
Daniel has been invited to serve as adjudicator for the Buddha’s Light Youth Symphony Orchestra’s first Music Festival.
The USC Apollo Chorus will premiere Daniel’s new work for men’s chorus and piano, My Son, My Son, on text by Paul Willis.
Choral Arts Initiative has selected Daniel to be their Inaugural Assistant Conductor. Daniel will begin in his role immediately as the ensemble prepares for their concert on March 23 at Anaheim First Presbyterian, featuring the premiere of Christian Guebert’s Voyaging, for mixed chorus, 3-7 octaves handbells, and harp.
Daniel will be traveling down to São Paulo, Brazil for a week of teaching vocal technique and coaching choirs as part of a series of workshops and masterclasses hosted by the Assemblies of God Denomination.
Daniel leads the Global Harmony Symphony of Orange County as guest conductor in a program of Rossini, Mendelssohn, and Sibelius. The concert will feature Mann-Wen Lo, fellow DMA candidate at USC, performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.
Daniel conducts musicians of the USC Thornton School of Music in a DMA Conducting Recital in a program consisting of Copland's Appalachian Spring and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. Newman Recital Hall, University of Southern California, 7:30pm. Admission is free and reception to follow.
Daniel will present John Corigliano's Fern Hill (version for choir and chamber orchestra) with musicians of the USC Thornton School of Music. Daniel will share this graduate conducting recital with some of the masters students of the USC Choral program as well. Concert will take place in USC's Jeanette MacDonald Recital Hall at 7:30pm. Admission is free.
Daniel joins DMA colleagues Rina Ritavoiu and Irene Apanovitch-Leites in leading the women of the Oriana Women's Choir in a concert of music by Mendelssohn, Bernstein, Britten, Emma Lou Diemer, and others. The Apollo Men's Chorus will also perform the second half of the concert. Concert to take place in USC's Newman Recital Hall at 8pm.
Daniel participated in the CCDA Summer Conference Master Class with conference headliner Jerry Blackstone, one of three conductors selected at the conference. Dr. Jerry Blackstone is a two time GRAMMY Award winning conductor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Michigan.
He will serve as Associate Conductor of the Oriana Women's Choir, as well as the graduate student coordinator of the annual USC Winter Gala. Faculty mentors will include Drs. Jo-Michael Scheibe, Nick Strimple, Cristian Grases, Tram Sparks, and Larry Livingston.
Daniel directs He Emptied Himself, a musical, dramatic, and theological meditation on the emptying of Christ's incarnation with the musicians, artists, dancers, and pastoral staff of Evergreen SGV. Works include Victoria's "O Magnum Misterium," and a premier of Daniel's "Agnus Dei." Admission is free and open to the public.
Daniel will serve as Conducting Fellow for the Long Beach Symphony where he will assist incoming Music Director Eckart Preu and other guest conductors for the 2016-2017 season.
Daniel studied with Kenneth Kiesler at the Conductors Retreat at Medomak, an intensive three week program consisting of coaching, score study, aural skills and movement training, including a final concert with all the participants conducting Beethoven 9, Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Mahler's Ruckert Lieder, and Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony.
