daniel shao, flute
Daniel recently graduated from his Master’s with Samuel Coles at the Royal Academy of Music, with Distinction, DipRAM, and the Alumni Development Award for ‘singularly distinguished studentship’. Before this, he graduated from Oxford University with a First in Music, and attended the Purcell School, winning the Felsenstein Leaver’s Award.
Daniel’s playing has been described as “shapely and silvery” (Classical Source, 2017) and possessing “virtuosity, charm, and charisma in abundance” (The Telegraph, 2014). He is a passionate orchestral musician, being a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, and having appeared as principal flute with the Britten Pears Orchestra under Marin Alsop. In London, he regularly performs with dynamic young professional groups such as the Multi-Storey Orchestra, and the Coriolis Wind Quintet.
He often performs internationally, and recently was selected for a fellowship at the Music Academy of the West in California, working with renowned artists such as Alan Gilbert and Renée Fleming, and also for the Lucerne Festival Academy, where he developed his aptitude for contemporary music with leading interpreters and composers of today such as Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Mathias Pintscher, and Heinz Holliger.
He has benefited greatly from masterclasses with eminent flautists such as Julien Beaudiment, Emily Beynon, Rachel Brown, Sophie Cherrier, Andrea Lieberknecht, Kersten McCall, and Emmanuel Pahud. Daniel has won many awards, including the British Flute Society Young Artist and School Performer Competitions, the Oxford Philomusica and Brighton Springboard concerto competitions, RAM’s Chris Taylor Flute Award, and the Royal Overseas League’s ‘Sussex Prize’. He was a wind finalist for BBC Young Musician 2014, broadcasted on BBC TV and radio.
Daniel has performed concertos with the Oxford Philharmonic, Czech National Symphony, Amadeus Orchestra, and Kingston Chamber Orchestra, and has given solo recitals at venues including Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room. He is grateful for support from the Hattori Foundation.
Dan Shao is supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. In addition to providing grants to support postgraduate musical study, the Munster Trust runs a Recital Scheme through which it subsidises the fees of selected beneficiaries to perform at concert venues throughout the UK and, as part of that scheme, the Trust is proud to support Dan’s involvement in the LIMF for a second year. For more information please see www.munstertrust.org.uk