Biography

Resumé

Described as „…a natural and enormous talent.“ by the Chicago Sun Times, conductor Marlon Daniel has performed in venues that range from the Rudolfinum in Prague to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. He has made débuts with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (Cantus Firmus), Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra, Praga Sinfonietta, Filharmonie Hradec Králové and several international music festivals including Fontainebleau, Santander and Les Musicales de Pontivy Festival. In 2002 he had the honor of conducting a performance at the world première inauguration of the new MAYBACH Car sponsored by Daimler Chrysler and Mercedes Benz (DE), in 2004 he was featured at Carnegie Hall in the “Silver Bells” Christmas concert which alongside renowned soprano Deborah Voigt and is 2007, he conducted the world première live performance of the „Save the Goldfish“ episode of the EMMY winning “Wonder Pets” at New York's Javits Center. Also in 2007 he was invited to Berlin by Maestro Sir Simon Rattle to Berlin to observe rehearsals of the Berlin Philharmonic and learn from one of the most important conductors and orchestras of our day.

He has received numerous prizes and awards including the 2009 Foncannon Conducting Award, the James and Lola Faust Fellowship, the Hazel Scott Memorial Prize for Outstanding Musical Achievement, a Rose Hanus Fellowship, the M.C. Lawton Civic and Cultural Club Grant for Musical Development, the Mabel Henderson Memorial Grant for Foreign Experience, a Capitol Region Foundation Grant for Arts in Education and an Honorary Key to the City of Chicago for Outstanding Musical Achievement bestowed by the late Mayor Harold Washington. He was most recently a finalist in the National Symphony/Leonard Slakin Conducting Institute search and the recipiant of the 2008 ‘Voice of the Artist’ Award from the United Nations Nation to Nation Networking Organization in recognition of his charitable work through music, bringing awareness to the crisis in Darfur.

A graduate of Manhattan School of Music, he holds both a Masters of Arts and Bachelors of Music degree. He also holds Diplomas from Le Conservatoire Américain (France), Centro de Estudios Musicales Isaac Albéniz (Spain), an Advance Performance Certificate from the American Conservatory of Music Young Artists Program and Post Graduate Diplomas from both the Prague Academy and the Prague Conservatory.

His musical development has also been shaped by the influence of Dmitri Bashkirov, Jiří Bělohlávek, Gaby Casadesus, Pavlina Dokovska, Vladimir Feltsman, Richard Goode, Sir Simon Rattle, Larry Rachleff, Jerome Rose, Louis Salemno, Mariusz Smolij, Kirk Trevor, František Vajnar and Oxana Yablonskaya. His first teacher was Kathryn Gladden, a former pupil of Moriz Rosenthal (a student of Franz Liszt). Later he studied with Alexander Edelmann (of whom he was the last student), Arkady Aronov, Nicolai Lomov, Miyoko Nakaya Lotto and Salvatore Spina. Conducting studies were made with Harold Farberman, David Gilbert, Tomáš Koutník and Miriam Nemcová.

This past February 2009 Maestro Daniel was appointed Principal Conductor of the International Festival of African and African American Music in Saint Louis Missouri. He is also the Music Director and Conductor of Ensemble du Monde and Manhattan Virtuosi chamber orchestras in New York and a former member of the New York Philharmonic Conductor's Round Table. Upcoming concerts include performances with the Ensemble Orchestra of Prague, Opera Ebony, Sofia Philharmonic, National Symphony of Ghana and solo appearances in London, Italy, Paris, and New York. His first CD with the Praga Sinfonietta of works of Sisler and Stravinsky will be released in October 2009 and his second CD of Mahler Symphony No. 4 in early 2010.