Composer
Dan’s compositions have been heard throughout the United States, France, England, and Italy. He has been commissioned by the International Arts Educators Forum, Trio Solano, Farallon Quintet, Shipyard Trust for the Arts, Gold Coast Chamber Players, the Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco, Cecilia Ensemble, and several musician colleagues. In 2021 he received a grant from InterMusic SF to make a video of his composition “Ehrlichia,” Rhapsody in Discomfort #6, which is available to view on Youtube and brought catharsis to thousands of Lyme Disease victims. In 2022, he was awarded a Silver Medal in Composition by Global Music Awards for “Ehrlichia.” In 2023, he wrote an article about this experience for New Music USA, titled Rhapsody in Discomfort. His composition, An Animated Street in Autumn, was recently featured in The Strad. His compositions can be heard on his recent album, The Bow and the Brush (MSR Classics).
In February of 2023, Dan premiered his Hymn, inspired by Camille Pissarro, at the Stern-Pissarro Gallery in London, then was invited to perform Nue aux Cheveux Roux- Hommage á Henner at the Musée Jean-Jacques Henner in Paris. During the pandemic, he was commissioned by Hunters Point Shipyard Artists to compose and record the music for their Socially Distanced Artists Series, then invited to compose a new piece to perform with Trio Solano at Music on the Hill, which was streamed on October 18th, 2020. Dan is currently focusing on pieces inspired by visual art and is accepting commissions. “Timeless” and “An Animated Street in Autumn” were both praised by audiences. “Inevitable Entails” for violin and cello, based on the art of Beth Davila Waldman, was premiered on April 25th in a streamed concert for Calliope: East Bay Music and Arts. He recently completed four string quartets, a string trio that was premiered at Crocker Art Museum, and a mixed chamber piece for International Arts Educators Forum, which was premiered in Rome in July, 2024.
List of Works
In order of composition:
- Devil Went Up to Bern (String Quartet #4), commissioned by Maki Ishii Sowash and the Cecilia Ensemble
- Water Lilies (String Quartet #3) (after the painting by Claude Monet), commissioned by Julie Kim
- Tamayo (String Quartet #2) arranged from the String Trio
- The Magpie (String Quartet #1) (after the painting by Claude Monet)
- Tamayo (after a painting by Rufino Tamayo) for string trio
- Rhapsody in Discomfort #8 “Extolling the External,” (commissioned by International Arts Educators Forum) for piano, clarinet, violin and cello
- LeGato au Chocolat (after a painting by Cynthia Alvarez) for solo violin
- “Concert Stuck,” Rhapsody in Discomfort #8 for string quartet
- Ethereal Explorations (after the sculpture by Rebecca Fox, commissioned by SF Shipyard Gallery) for solo violin
- Hymn (after a drawing by Camille Pissarro, composed for the Stern Pissarro Gallery) for solo violin
- Perlmutter (after the painting Cattails on the Waterfront by Jennifer Perlmutter, commissioned by Gold Coast Chamber Players) for solo violin
- Monterey Sentinels (after the painting by Joaquin Turner) for solo violin
- Plop Squeak Music (commissioned by Bruce Chrisp and Gabrielle Wunsch) for violin and trombone
- Inevitable Entails (after the five-painting series by Beth Davila Waldman) for violin and cello
- ‘Ehrlichia,’ Rhapsody in Discomfort #6 (commissioned by Paul and Vicky Ehrlich) for string trio (violin, viola, cello)
- ‘Timeless,’ Rhapsody in Discomfort #5 (after the metronome sculpture series Seduced By Syncopation by Sean O’Donnell) for solo violin and acoustic metronomes
- Shipyard Artists Elegy for solo violin (commissioned by Shipyard Artists Trust for the streamed Socially Distanced Artists Series)
- An Animated Street in Autumn (after the painting by JF Raffaëlli) for solo violin
- Rhapsody in Discomfort #4 “The Lump in My Throat” for solo violin
- Rhapsody in Discomfort #3 ‘Covids “Я” Us’ for solo violin
- The War on Christmas for 2.5 Violins for two violins, a garbage violin, an axe, and optional whoopee cushions
- Nue aux Cheveux Roux- Hommage á Henner for violin and piano
- Chorales and Interludes for solo violin
- Are You Sure About This? for quintet (clarinet and string quartet)
- Rhapsody in Discomfort #2 ‘Where’s My Monet?’ for cello and two violins
- Interlace for two violins
- ’Borderline Phantasia,’ Rhapsody in Discomfort #1 for solo violin
“While every piece on the program was compelling in itself, the initial allure to this critic was the world premiere of “Hommage a Jean-Jacques Henner” by Dan Flanagan. In addition to his exploits as a widely known violinist, Flanagan is a noted connoisseur of art. It was the art of the great French painter Henner which inspired Flanagan to compose his “Nue aux cheveaux roux” for violin and piano. The key word here is “inspired“. It was obvious from the outset that we were going to be rewarded with an outstanding new composition. Flanagan’s hommage brings to mind Debussy at his most romantic. It is beautifully laid out with lyric singing passages alternating with mysterious tremelos in the violin and discordant rumbling in the piano. It will make a welcome addition to the violin repertoire. The composer played it brilliantly.”