DANIEL BUCHANAN is a singer, recording artist, composer, pianist, church musician, music educator, and artistic entrepreneur based in Houston, Texas.

Daniel recently made his symphonic debut singing Handel’s Messiah with the Southwest Florida Symphony. He currently sings with the Houston Grand Opera in the “Opera to Go!” ensemble, performing opera at community centers and schools throughout Texas. With the company Daniel has sung Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville and the Prince in Sleeping Beauty. He recently performed Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors with the Sandra Organ Dance Company and Hilarion in Princess Ida with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston. Daniel’s other opera roles include the title role in Albert Herring, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and Ferrando in Così fan tutte. He has also sung the role of Testo in Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda.

Daniel is a core member and Director of Artistic Operations for Opera Vista, an innovative contemporary opera company based in Houston, Texas. Opera Vista sponsors a festival of contemporary opera every June, including the Vista Competition for opera composers. The organization also creates other projects throughout the year, including imaginative opera programming at Houston’s Cafe Brasil and Bayou Bend. With Opera Vista, Daniel has sung the role of Bill in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, Dominique in Amy Beach’s Cabildo, as well as music of R. Timothy Brady, Abigail Al-Doory, and Beth Wiemann.

No stranger to the concert stage, Daniel has been a soloist with the Bach Society of Houston (St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion), Mercury Baroque Ensemble, the Houston Choral Society (H.M.S. Pinafore), and the Houston Chamber Choir (St. John Passion, Mass in B Minor, Messiah). Other concerts include Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mass in C, Mendelssohn’s St. Paul, and multiple performances of Handel’s Messiah. An experienced professional choral singer, Daniel has sung with the Grammy-nominated ensemble Conspirare under Craig Hella Johnson, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, and the Houston Chamber Choir. He will tour Europe in the summer of 2008 with Conspirare, including performances at the International Symposium on Choral Music in Copenhagen, where Conspirare is the only featured group from the USA.

Daniel is in high demand as a church musician, worship leader, and Christian retreat and conference performer. He served as the Vocal Director and Worship Leader at Camp-of-the-Woods, a resort in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. At C.O.T.W., he managed a staff of professional singers and performed concerts for thousands of guests every week. He has collaborated as worship leader with speakers Brian McLaren, Alastair Begg, Lori Salierno, and Dallas Willard, and has performed at retreats and conferences across the country. He served for two years as the Director of Music at Houston’s historic Church of the Redeemer. He is currently an active member of Ecclesia Church.

Daniel is frequently engaged in special creative projects in collaboration with other artists. He recently co-created an African Christmas musical entitled Every Man Heart Lay Down with visual artist Karen Capper and choreographer Sandra Organ, incorporating traditional African music, modern dance, multi-generational performers, and original music by Daniel. He has also traveled to South Africa and Zimbabwe with a team of visual and performing artists to engage children with arts-centered workshops.

Devotion is Daniel’s debut solo recording, featuring an eclectic mixture of musical styles and textures, including original songs, plainchant, choral music, and Christian contemporary music. The CD was co-produced with Michael McBride. Daniel can also be heard on the recording Live from Loretto Chapel with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, available on Clarion Records.

A graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, he received further training from the Seagle Music Colony and the MasterWorks Festival. He attended the Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College, where he recently returned to serve as Guest Lecturer of Voice and Opera, and also to perform the Monteverdi Vespers and Rorem’s Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters. He currently teaches voice at Lone Star College Montgomery in Conroe, Texas.

~ ~ ~ ~

Click here for a high-resolution headshot.
Click here for a complete Curriculum Vitae.
For a brief biography for use in printed material, please contact Daniel.