Biography...

Violinist Danielle Belen, winner of the 2008 Sphinx Competition, recorded for Naxos this spring an album of new works by the American composer Lawrence Dillon. She also has performed this season as soloist with the Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Nashville and San Francisco Symphonies, the Boston Pops, and the Florida and Cleveland Orchestras. She has recently enjoyed working with conductors such as Robert Spano, Keith Lockhart, and Carl St. Clair.

Last year, Danielle played the premiere of “Gran Turismo for 8 Virtuoso Violins” by Andrew Norman, performing the work in both Los Angeles and at the 92nd Street Y. She is the artistic director and co-founder of Music Heals, an LA-based organization created to connect string quartet performances with patients at the USC Hospital. A graduate of USC and the Colburn Conservatory, she is now on faculty at the Colburn School and is Robert Lipsett’s teaching assistant. Danielle loves to work with students who have budding solo careers of their own. She also enjoys teaching Master Classes and outreach events across the country.

Danielle’s performance as a soloist has been enhanced by her orchestral experience as concertmaster with the New West Symphony, the Colburn Chamber Orchestra and National Repertory Orchestra.

Danielle plays on a 1709 Allessandro Gagliano violin from the Mandell Collection of Southern California.

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