One of the most dynamic conductors of his generation, Marlon DANIEL has been described as “a natural and enormous talent” (Chicago Sun-Times) and his artistry has been hailed as “fabulous and exceptional” (Pravda – Moscow). Winner of the 2014 John and Mary Virginia Foncannon Conducting Award, he has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in Europe and the United States that range from Carnegie Hall to the Rudolfinum in Prague and several international music festivals. He has also appeared with international artists that have included Yuriy BEKKER, Koh Gabriel KAMEDA, Julian MILKIS, Magali LÉGER, Kristin LEWIS, Rachel BARTON-PINE, Eric SILBERGER, Russell THOMAS and Deborah VOIGT, to name a few.
He has received numerous prizes and awards including the Mabel Henderson Memorial Grant for Foreign Experience, a Rose Hanus Fellowship, and an Honorary Key to the City of Chicago for Outstanding Musical Achievement and the ‘Voice of the Artist’ Award from the United Nations in recognition of his charitable work of bringing awareness to the crisis in Darfur.
He was educated at Manhattan School of Music, Le Conservatoire Américain – Fontainebleau (France), Centro de Estudios Musicales Isaac Albéniz (Spain) and the Prague Academy, where he received his training in conducting whilst serving as Associate Conductor of the Praga Sinfonietta. He has also profited from the advice of Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic as a James and Lola Faust Fellow, and Jorma Panula at the Panula Academy in Finland.
He is one of the foremost exponents of music by composers of African and African American descent, performing works from Saint-Georges to George Walker. In 2011 he conducted the Russian première of William Grant Still’s iconic Afro-AmericanSymphony and received the praise of the Still Family Foundation as a champion of the works of the composer.
An avid supporter of music by living composers, he has worked closely with and conducted première performances of major composers that include Sidney BOQUIREN, Aldophus HAILSTORK, Giya KANCHELI, Matthew KAJCIENSKI, Libby LARSEN, Dominique LE GENDRE, Nkeiru OKOYE, Fred ONOVWEROSUOKE, Patrick SOLURI, Eino TAMBERG and Lev ZHURBIN. His recording “Phoenix Forever” (music of Hampson SISLER) on the MSR Classics label received rave reviews and was in consideration for a 2011 GRAMMY.
Mr. DANIEL is former Artistic Director of the International Festival of Composers of African and Afro-Caribbean Descent organized by Nassau Music Society and sponsored by Atlantis Resort, Société Générale and the Embassy of the United States, Associate Conductor of the Praga Sinfonietta, Associate Conductor of the Sofia Sinfonietta and Principal Guest Conductor of the Sofia Sinfonietta.
Most recently he was the featured in Symphony Magazine andon National CBS news documentary/interview “Changing the Color of Classical Music” hosted by anchormen Lee Cowan and Scott Pelley, and produced by EMMY winning producer Alturo Rhymes, and featured on Black America TV with host Carol Jenkins. He also made his London Royal Festival Hall début, to great acclaim, under the auspices of the CHINEKE! Foundation.
Currently he is Artistic Director of the Festival International de Musique Saint-Georges, the Bahamas National Symphony Orchestra (BNSO) Orchestra Workshops, Music Director of the Colour of Music Festival, Music Director of Ensemble du Monde, Guest Conductor of the Pazardzhik State Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Sofia Opera and Ballet in Bulgaria, a Guest Artist and Lecturer at Columbia University Teachers College for the Diversity in Classical Music Project and is a guest lecturer at Yale University.
This season he will perform again with the Bahamas National Symphony Orchestra, the Pazardzhik State Symphony Orchestra, and he will make débuts with the Ensemble PI, Frankfurter Sinfoniker, Orquesta del Lyceum de La Habana and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba.
To learn more about Marlon Daniel please visit www.marlondaniel.com.