Dan Flanagan

Dan Flanagan currently serves as Concertmaster of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Concertmaster of the Modesto Symphony, Concertmaster of West Edge Opera, Concertmaster of Opera Paralléle, and Instructor of Violin at University of California, Berkeley.  Described as a “stellar musician” (Nevada Reviews), he has been praised for his “exquisite tones” and “forthright brio” (Sacramento Bee), and his “violin… solos were excellent” (San Francisco Classical Voice).

A dedicated orchestral player, Flanagan has performed as concertmaster with the Oakland Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, California Symphony, California Musical Theater, Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, Symphony Silicon Valley, Merced Symphony and Symphony Napa Valley.  He performs regularly with the San Francisco Opera and Ballet and records film, video game, and television soundtracks with the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra. Frequently featured as soloist with the Sacramento Philharmonic and Modesto Symphony, Flanagan has also performed with the American River Chamber Orchestra, Bear Valley Symphony, Reno Baroque Ensemble, UC Davis Symphony, and the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, Flanagan has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento, the Oregon Bach Festival, Earplay, Melody of China, Midsummer Mozart Chamber Players, Gold Coast Chamber Players, and has collaborated with pianists Leon Fleisher and Jon Nakamatsu.  A founding member of the Farallon Quintet, with whom he has performed throughout Northern California, he has commissioned and premiered numerous works, several of which can be heard on their CD, “Farallon Quintet Originals.”  As a member of the Eco Ensemble, he performs regularly at Cal Performances, performed at La Biennale in Venice, Italy, and was featured in Strings Magazine.

In Covid times, he is composing and commissioning original works inspired by paintings and performing them for his Youtube series, “Corona Quarantine Concerts.”  The series was recommended by San Francisco Classical Voice and KDFC and has received thousands of views.  Outside of Youtube, his compositions have been heard throughout the SF Bay Area and were recently featured in the Spread Spectrum Festival Russia and the Hunters Point Shipyard Artists Series.

Flanagan plays on a violin made in 1840 by JB Vuillaume, once owned by the celebrated American virtuoso Albert Spalding, and he collects original artwork by French Impressionists and contemporary California artists.  His extensive collection of antique concert programs and photos has been presented at numerous universities and was featured in a documentary on the legendary Czech violinists for Czech Television.

In addition to teaching at University of California, Berkeley, Dan was Lecturer of Violin at University of California, Davis, from 2007 to 2017, where his students were frequent winners of the university concerto competition.  In 2008, Dan founded Sacramento School of Music, where he served as Director and Instructor of Violin until 2014.

Early studies were in New Jersey and New York City, followed by high school at Interlochen Arts Academy. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Master’s Degree from the University of Oregon, where he was a Graduate Teaching Fellow.  His teachers include Linda Cerone, Charles Castleman, Lewis Kaplan, Hal Grossman and Fritz Gearhart.