CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT – Daniel Black
- tiakanigan2
- Jul 25
- 5 min read
About the Music Director Search
This season, the Great Falls Symphony is thrilled to welcome six outstanding finalists as part of our search for the next music director. Each candidate will conduct a concert and spend time in our community, sharing not only their artistry but their vision for what the Symphony could mean in our town.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for Great Falls,” says Executive Director Hillary Shepherd. “We invite everyone–patrons, musicians, and first-time concert goers alike–to come experience each conductor and help us imagine the next chapter of our Symphony’s future.”
Click below to see the published spotlights for the other candidates!
Meet Daniel Black
Conductor & Composer
When you meet Daniel Black, you get the sense he’s always following his curiosity to new places, new ideas, and new sounds. Born in Wisconsin, raised in California, and now based in Montreal, Daniel has spent his life immersed in music from every angle.
Daniel didn’t grow up in a family of professional musicians. His mom sang in choirs and his dad played clarinet in high school. There was plenty of love for the arts, but no road map for a career in music. He started on the flute in middle school, dabbled in woodwinds and French horn. In high school, he discovered composition. Daniel wrote his first piece for a class project based on The Odyssey and found himself spending hours lost in the process.
"I sat down with my flute and sheet music and doodled until it came together. When I was composing, I had a level of focus and concentration that I never had for anything else. I would get lost in it for eight to ten hours straight. That was how I realized this was my thing.”
He laughs, “There were signs that I might like composition when I was younger. I remember playing on the playground and coming up with songs and thinking to myself this is stupid, you can’t just invent songs.” He was later introduced to music notation software and was able to make things for the school band and a few pieces for his woodwind quintet.. He enjoyed studying the scores for movie soundtracks and major works. He remembers that he loved the sound of the orchestra. “I had sort of a restless instrumental career because what I really wanted to do was play everything. I was focused on the sound of the orchestra and conducting, rather than on a specific instrument.”
He earned his bachelor’s in composition from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “Studying composition in college gave me a great understanding of music theory, but not in conducting itself. Conducting needs a lot of initiative at the beginning of a career. Conducting is not an entry level job at any point. Nobody wants to put someone on the podium who doesn't know what they're doing.” He gained his conducting experience by working with friends to create an extracurricular performance or concerts where he recruited volunteer orchestras of 60 or so players. “Any chance you have to get experience on the podium, you take it.” He then completed his master’s in orchestral conducting at the Eastman School of Music. His training later took him to the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia and finally to Northwestern University, where he earned his doctorate in conducting under Victor Yampolsky.
Daniel’s career has been just as far-reaching. He served as associate conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and resident conductor of The Florida Orchestra. He’s also led youth orchestras, worked in opera houses, and conducted ensembles across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He’s fluent in Russian, nearly fluent in French, and recently completed a second master’s in composition at the Université de Montréal entirely in French.
He says, “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to explore the world, not just as a tourist but to actually spend time in other places and study there. It has been so great to hone my craft while speaking new languages and experiencing new cultures. I have always enjoyed travelling in various forms from a young age. It is always wonderful to see the world.” He reflects on his readiness for a change, however. “It does get tiring over time. I am ready to settle down now and have a place I can invest in.”
When asked about his philosophy on the position of music director and their role in an organization, he says,
“The term music director to me is very different from the term conductor. Conductors lead a performance but music directors go much deeper. The music director isn’t just the person on the podium. They’re a leader in the community. Someone who listens, who shows up, and who helps shape the organization’s future, not just through programming, but through relationships.”
That’s what drew him to Great Falls. That, and a familiar name from his undergrad days, Grant Harville! His name caught Daniel’s eye on the job posting, but it was the orchestra’s commitment to artistic depth and community collaboration that really made him pay attention. “I’m looking for a place that has balance, community support for the arts, and an organization that values creativity and connection,” he says. “Somewhere I can invest, not just musically, but personally.”
In his free time, Daniel is a member of a science fiction book club. He also enjoys cooking spicy food: Mexican and Indian dishes are his go-to's, with one of his favorite sauces being a mint chutney. He also bakes sourdough, and enjoys hanging out with his cats, Hector– named after French composer Hector Berlioz, and Charlot–the French nickname for Charlie Chaplin due to the cat’s small mustache. He enjoys studying languages and speaks fluent Russian and is approaching fluency in French. He would like to learn Polish and Hindi.
What can you expect from Daniel's upcoming program with the Great Falls Symphony?
His first concert reflects his values as a conductor: a mix of expressive storytelling and vibrant orchestral color. He says, “I wanted to start somewhere dark and progress to somewhere more positive and upbeat.” The program opens with Tchaikovsky’s stormy Manfred Overture, then moves into My Name is Amanda Todd, a powerful piece by Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock that responds to the story of a young girl whose experience with cyberbullying sparked international awareness. From there, the concert lifts into Dvořák’s joyful Symphony No. 8, and closes with Oboe Concerto “Les Belles Heures” performed by a close friend of Daniel’s, Dwight Parry, a world-renowned soloist. About the piece Daniel says, “Not only is Dwight a great musician, but he commissioned this piece. It was literally written for him. I am so pleased to work with him and bring this music to Great Falls."
“I’m honored to be part of this search,” Daniel says. “It is an extremely competitive process and I'm honored to be a finalist. I hope everyone will come to the program ready for some great music. Some pieces are very familiar and some are less so, but it's all wonderful. It will be a very fun, busy week and I would love to get to know as many people as possible. I look forward to shaking hands and saying hello and really starting to get to know the community.”
Get to Know All of Our Finalist Music Director Candidates
All of our candidate spotlights are available to read on our blog. Click below to meet the other candidates, read their professional biographies, or get your
season tickets to an unbelievable season! Don't miss the opportunity to see these outstanding conductors in action during their upcoming performances.
All of our Music Director Finalist Candidates are sponsored by The Gibson Hotel, City Motor Company, and Rib & Chop House–Great Falls!
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