Conductor, Daniel Brier enjoys a multi-faceted career comfortably spanning symphony, opera, ballet, and live movie performances. He currently holds the position of Music Director & Principal Conductor of Opera Wilmington. His recent guest engagements include the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Adrian Symphony, Whiting Park Symphony Orchestra, and St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Bobby McFerrin, Pablo Sainz Villegas, Rachel Barton Pine, Jennifer Frautschi, and more. As an opera conductor, he recently conducted productions of Verdi's La Traviata, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Puccini’s La Bohème, Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. As a movie conductor, he has conducted live to picture performances of the original Star Wars trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, The Return of the Jedi), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, How to Train Your Dragon, Jaws, A Jungle Book, and more.

Previously, Mr. Brier served the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra as Interim Music Director, Resident Conductor, and Assistant Conductor. During his eight seasons with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, he annually conducted subscription masterworks, chamber orchestra, family, education, pops, holiday, movie, and summer parks concerts. Under his leadership, the orchestra diversified its programming, expanded its community partnerships, innovated new concert series, and reached young people with inspiring and imaginative education programming.

A sought after educator, Mr. Brier is currently Music Director of Youth Music Monterey and Director of Orchestral Studies and Chamber Music at Biola University's Conservatory of Music. He previously served on the faculty of Hope College, Western Michigan University, Andrews University, and the University of Michigan's String Preparatory Academy.

Past positions include founding Music Director of the Spectrum Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, and conductor of the University of Michigan Orpheus Singers. In 2010, he was awarded a prize for his “exceptional conducting” during the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic’s International Conducting Competition. Later, in 2012, he received an invitation to study with John Nelson at the Orchestre de chambre de Paris. Mr. Brier has conducted in masterclasses with Giancarlo Guerrero, Hugh Wolff, Jorma Panula, Alexander Polishchuk, Victor Yampolsky, Carl Topilow, and Ragnar Bohlin.

Mr. Brier received his musical training at the University of Michigan’s renowned conducting program earning degrees in orchestral conducting with Kenneth Kiesler and choral conducting with Dr. Jerry Blackstone. While at the University of Michigan, he served as an assistant conductor for the world premiere recording of Milhaud’s L’Orestie d'Eschyle conducted by Kenneth Kiesler. Recorded live on Naxos, the album earned a GRAMMY® nomination in 2015. He is a recipient of the Julian and Vera McIntosh scholarship for promising young musicians and conductors, the Dr. Charlene Archibeque scholarship for choral conductors, and the Dorothy Greenwald scholarship.

Updated March 2024

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