About
Dan Flanagan has built a multifaceted career as a soloist and orchestral musician, performing concertos with orchestras in California and recitals throughout the United States and Europe. Flanagan currently serves as Concertmaster of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Concertmaster of West Edge Opera, and Instructor of Violin at University of California, Berkeley. Described as an “excellent violinist” (New York Concert Reviews), “stellar musician” (Nevada Reviews) and “superior violinist” (Piedmont Post), he has been praised for his “exquisite tones” and “forthright brio” (Sacramento Bee), and his “solos were excellent” (San Francisco Classical Voice).
The Bow and the Brush
Created by violinist/composer Dan Flanagan, The Bow and the Brush integrates the visual arts with new music. Dan commissions and composes new works of music inspired by paintings and sculptures in his personal collection. Read more.
Donate to support Dan’s project The Bow and the Brush.
FALL 2024: The Cecelia Ensemble will premiere Dan’s Quartet #1 ‘The Magpie’ in October and the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera will premiere his transcription of Jean Sibelius’s Trio in G Minor in November. Stay tuned for the inaugural season of Dan’s new ensemble, The Berkelium String Quartet.
Carnegie Hall Reviews!
“As if his plate were not already quite full enough, Dan Flanagan the composer was also on display. An Animated Street in Autumn, alternating between frenzy and quietude, and LeGato au Chocolat, an homage to the feline in charge of Mr. Flanagan’s household, served as vehicles for the violinist’s profound talent. He is a composer’s dream, an imaginative and reliable conduit for the vast array of musicians whose contributions he solicits.” -New York Concert Review (March, 2024)
“Flanagan’s LeGato au Chocolat, named after his cat Gato, was last. A bricolage of quotes from Bach, John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, Tchaikovsky, and others, it also included Flanagan meowing along with the music and pretending to cough up a hairball. The crowd went wild.” -New York Classical Review (March, 2024)
Dan’s newest album The Bow And The Brush has been released on MSR Classics and is available on CD and major streaming platforms. It features 14 Premieres for Unaccompanied Violin by composers Edmund Campion, Cindy Cox, Shinji Eshima, Dan Flanagan, Jose Gonzalez Granero, Peter Josheff, Libby Larsen, Linda Marcel, Jessica Mays, Evan Price, James Stephenson, Nathaniel Stookey, and Trevor Weston. Volume 2 is currently being recorded.
“This release is many things, but primarily it is a virtuoso exposition of violin playing from Flanagan, and a celebration of what is possible when art and music intersect. Bravo.” -Fanfare Magazine (January, 2024)
“The exceptional violinist Dan Flanagan fleshes out 14 solo pieces inspired by paintings and sculptures…. a very accomplished body of work from one of today’s most luminous violin players.” -Take Effect (December, 2023)
“So happy to report that the intrepid violinist puts on a master class of exemplary technique, insightful interpretations and an immediately felt devotion to canvases of both sound and art.” -James Wegg Review (December, 2023)
“Flanagan has solidified his position as one of the country’s most talented interpreters of contemporary music.” -International Journal of Music (October, 2023)
“Flanagan’s performances are expectedly committed with a sense of joy inherent throughout these different works that is one of discovery and challenge.” -Steven Kennedy Music (September, 2023)
“As expected, a panorama of violin techniques is presented in the performances, and consequently one comes away from the project well-impressed with Flanagan’s musicianship and versatility. It’s a fascinating project.” -Textura (September, 2023)
Also: Check out Dan’s interview about The Bow and the Brush with Vents Magazine and his article, Rhapsody in Discomfort, about leading a music career with a chronic illness. It has recently been published in New Music Box by New Music USA.
