With exceptional energy and elegant expressivity, Daniel Meyer is recognized as one of the top conductors of his generation.
As Music Director of the Asheville Symphony and Erie Philharmonic, Meyer has helped to reinvigorate the orchestras in both communities, enlivening the arts community with innovative programs and a dedication to create and sustain enthusiastic audiences for classical music.
Daniel Meyer was Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony from 2003-2009. While there he worked closely with Manfred Honeck, Mariss Jansons, Sir Andrew Davis, and Charles Dutoit, led the Pittsburgh Symphony on tour, and conducted performances with Pinchas Zukerman, Sarah Chang, and Marvin Hamlisch as soloists. With a talent for creative concerts and a passion for connecting with audiences, he led the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Symphony with a Splash, an innovative series designed for professionals, as well as a Sunday matinee series for families called Popular Classics.
Mr. Meyer has conducted the Utah, Forth Worth, San Antonio, Syracuse, Tallahassee, Mansfield, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Youngstown, Lexington, Portland, Santa Barbara, Lansing, and Wheeling Symphonies as well as the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom and the orchestras at the Aspen Music Festival. Mr. Meyer was featured at the American Symphony Orchestra League’s 2003 National Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville Symphony and made his debut at the Chautauqua Festival and Brevard Music Center last summer.
Mr. Meyer was awarded the 2002 Aspen Conducting Prize after his second season as a fellowship Academy Conductor at the Aspen Music Festival. He subsequently served as Assistant Conductor to David Zinman and returned the following summer to lead a subscription performance. Highlighting his commitment to new music and contemporary composers, Mr. Meyer conducted several premieres at Aspen, was featured on the Adventures in Listening new music series, and also appeared on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.
Committed to music education and young audiences, Mr. Meyer has developed a new series of Tiny Tots concerts based on popular children’s books to promote music and literacy. He has been featured on WQED-FM, KDKA-TV, in Pittsburgh Magazine, and has appeared as a guest lecturer at the Carnegie Mellon Business School. Mr. Meyer and the PSO were awarded the 2006 Bank of America Award for Excellence in Orchestra Education for their groundbreaking work with the Wilkinsburg community in programs produced over five consecutive years. In 2007, he led the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s Pastime, based on the lives of the great American ballplayers Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson, and Henry Aaron.
This past summer, Mr. Meyer led the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony on their first ever tour to China. In 2004, he led the Youth Symphony in a special performance at the first ever National Performing Arts Convention and conducted the orchestra on international tour to Vienna, Prague, Leipzig and Budapest in 2005. He also led the Youth Symphony in the world premiere of David Stock's Clarinet Concerto with soloist Richard Stoltzman and conducted the premiere of a new work by John Harbison in May 2009.
A native of Cleveland, Mr. Meyer is a graduate of Denison University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He composed and conducted works for ensembles at both schools, including a Stabat Mater for soprano, chorus and orchestra. As a doctoral student at Boston University, Mr. Meyer received the Orchestral Conducting Honors Award. He also studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. He is married to violist Mary Persin of the Biava Quartet.
(March 2010. Please discard previously dated materials and contact publicity@colbertartists.com before making any alterations or cuts.)
