About this Artist

Daniel Trahey is a musician, educator, innovator, and social entrepreneur. He co-created Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids program, and also founded the El Sistema -inspired program Tuned-In at the Peabody Institute, where he taught Collective Composition and Community Engagement for 10 years. Dan plays tuba for the Archipelago Project and the Austria- based RET Brass Band and has performed worldwide for hundreds of thousands of children, specifically targeting impoverished areas with little access to live performance. He has held orchestral positions in Mexico and the U.S. Dan’s work is documented by media outlets such as 60 Minutes, PBS, NPR, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Dan has given TED talks in multiple locations and was named the Most Valuable Player in the Arts by Baltimore Magazine. Dan has taught at Baltimore School for the Arts, Idyllwild Arts, Peabody Conservatory, New England Conservatory, and The University of Maryland. Dan is a consultant for programs desiring to use music as a vehicle for social change. In addition to founding two El Sistema programs in Baltimore, Dan has helped start El Sistema inspired programs in Charlotte, Chicago, Ft. Worth, Innsbruck, Allentown, Waterbury, Alexandria, and Kalamazoo, among other places. He recently facilitated the creation of a Miami-based youth orchestra, Nu Deco NXT, which focuses on pillars of composition, leadership, improvisation, and interpretation.  

Dan helped develop a new vehicle for nurturing youth voice called Collective Composition. He has facilitated large-scale compositions for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Take A Stand Festival, The Longy School of Music, The Peabody Conservatory, The National Youth Orchestra of Honduras, The National Youth Orchestra of Chile, The Grand Rapids Symphony’s Mosaic Scholars, Ravinia’s Reach, Teach, Play, and hundreds more. He received a M.M. from Yale and a B.M.E. from Peabody.