Thank you for your wonderful performance and masterclass!
Dr. Velasco visited OCU on February 11th, performing a recital (with accompanist Ellen Sommers) and giving a masterclass. His recital program featured works by Hispanic composers, including two from Velasco’s home country. He shared with us the stories behind the pieces and asked us to participate by performing the rhythm part to a traditional Incan melody. Daniel Velasco inspired us with his vibrant sound and energetic teaching. We are thrilled that we were able to experience his playing for ourselves!
Read more about his visit on our blog!
Daniel Velasco is an award-winning flutist whose "standout" and "vibrant" performances (Miami Herald) have taken him around the world. He is the first prize winner of the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition, WAMSO Minnesota Orchestra Competition, MTNA Young Artist Competition, Claude Monteux Flute Competition, second prize winner of the William C. Byrd Competition, and finalist at the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh International Competition.
He has been a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador, Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra, Luciano Carrera Chamber Orchestra, University of Akron Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and has been featured as a guest performer at the Schubert Club Series in Saint Paul, the Indy Flute Festival in Indianapolis, the MidSouth Flute Festival, the Middle Tennessee Flute Festival in Nashville, the University or North Florida, the Florida Flute Association Convention, the Swedish Flute Association Convention, the Guadalajara-Mexico “Vientos de Otoño Festival,” the "Festival Internacional de Flautistas en la Mitad del Mundo" in Ecuador, and the National Flute Association Conventions in Kansas City, New Orleans, Chicago, and Orlando.
Orchestral festivals include the Latin American Orchestra, Chautauqua Music Festival, Orchestra de la Francophonie, Utah Festival Opera, as well as tours through Chile and Central America with the Orchestra of the Americas. He has performed under Carlos Prieto, Gustavo Dudamel, Claudio Abbado, Ben Zander, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Jacomo Bairos, Ramón Tebar, Cristian Macelaru, Carl St. Clair, and others.
An active freelancer, he has been a member of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Florida Grand Opera, Palm Beach Symphony, and has performed with Boca Sinfonia, Michigan Philharmonic, Akron Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera and Kansas City Symphony. He was a member of the Solaris woodwind quintet for two seasons, and is a founding member of the Miami-based NuDeco Ensemble.
Velasco earned a doctoral degree from the University of Miami-Frost School of Music, and holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Northern Iowa. His main teachers include Angeleita Floyd, Marianne Gedigian, Amy Porter, and Trudy Kane.
He served on the faculty at the University of Akron from 2016-2018 and is currently the flute professor at the University of Kansas. He is a Yamaha performing artist.
Read more about this amazing artist here.
