Known for his musical sensitivity and inspired performances, violinist Daniel Dastoor has emerged as one of Canada’s leading young artists. A native of Montreal and a frequent participant in competitions and festivals, Daniel is a winner of the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award and the Calgary Philharmonic’s Marley Rynd Performance Scholarship. As part of the Rilian Trio, he won the first prize and audience prize at the 12th Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition. He won first and second prize at the Prix Ravel of the Écoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau, won first and second prize at the Glenn Gould School’s Chamber Competition, and is a prizewinner of the Canadian Music and Alberta Festival competitions. Daniel has performed as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic and with the Lethbridge Symphony, and was chosen as a 2023-2024 Performance Today Young Artist in Residence. Recent and upcoming appearances include performances in Toronto, Montreal, Copenhagen, Trondheim, Calgary, and on Shelter Island at the Perlman Music Program.
A passionate chamber musician, Daniel has participated in the Perlman Music Program Chamber Workshop, Kneisel Hall Chamber Festival, Bowdoin Fellowship Program, National Arts Center’s Young Artist Program, Fontainebleau Festival, Trondheim International Chamber Festival, Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, Banff Centre Festival, and Orford Music Academy. Daniel was invited to perform as guest violinist with the UCalgary String Quartet faculty quartet in residence from 2016-2018. He has also participated twice in Calgary Pro Musica’s Young Artists Development Program, most recently as part of the Walden Trio, with which he competed in the Fischoff National Chamber Competition, and with which he was mentored by the Gryphon Trio at the Festival del Lago Academy in Ajijic, Mexico.
Active in the musical scene, Daniel has participated in the IMS Prussia Cove Masterclasses and competed in the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition. He has given solo and chamber performances across North America and Europe with appearances at series such as the Festival de Febrero, Rockport Chamber Festival, and Montreal Chamber Music Festival. Recently featured on WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase, he has also given performances for Music-Toronto and for the Banff Centre as part of the Dastoor-Woods Duo. Daniel has performed alongside many renowned artists including Inon Barnatan, Barbara Hannigan, Vivian Hornik-Weilerstein, Krzysztof Jablonski, Diana Ligeti, Robert McDonald, Barry Shiffman, and members of the Danish and Tetzlaff string quartets. A frequent performer in masterclasses and festivals, he has had the opportunity to work with distinguished artists such as Miguel da Silva, James Ehnes, Mauricio Fuks, Joseph Kalichstein, Ida Kavafian, Joel Krosnick, Stefan Mendl, Régis Pasquier, Merry Peckham, Itzhak Perlman, Gérard Poulet, Joel Smirnoff, Roger Tapping, and Pinchas Zukerman.
An equally experienced orchestral musician, Daniel has performed as concertmaster of the Royal Conservatory Orchestra and University of Calgary Orchestra, has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, McGill Symphony Orchestra, and Orford Academy Orchestra, and has served as a substitute in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Red Deer Symphony Orchestra.
Daniel is currently pursuing a Graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory, where he studies with Donald Weilerstein. Most recently, he completed an Artist Diploma in Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Ian Swensen, and completed an Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School where he studied with Paul Kantor and Barry Shiffman as a Temerty Fellow. He holds degrees in music from the Mount Royal Conservatory and the University of Calgary where he studied with Bill van der Sloot, and degrees in Computer Science from the University of Calgary and University of Toronto. Daniel performs on the 1700 Taft Stradivari violin, on loan by the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank. He also performs on a 1950 Louis Henri Gillet bow, generously on loan from CANIMEX.
August 2024