Conductor

Daniel Alfred Wachs has established an international reputation as a dynamic and expressive conductor, recognized for his deep musical integrity, interpretive insight, and clarity of gesture. Praised by Musical America, The Los Angeles Times, and The Orange County Register, Wachs continues to earn acclaim for performances that are “genuinely inspiring, technically proficient, and structurally sound.”

Wachs made his international debut with the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg at the Grosses Festspielhaus. He has since led acclaimed performances across Europe and North America, most recently including Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony at historic Waldsassen Abbey in Germany, and a tour with Sweden’s Musica Vitae which concluded at Madrid’s Reina Sofía Auditorium. In April 2026, Wachs made his debut at Carnegie Hall.

In the U.S., Wachs has conducted leading orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra (where he served as Assistant Conductor), National Symphony Orchestra (Washington D.C.), Auckland Philharmonia, Fort Worth Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and Sinfonia Gulf Coast. His operatic experience includes work with Cincinnati Opera and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris for the French premiere of Bernstein’s Candide. He was also resident conductor of New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center and assistant conductor to luminaries including Osmo Vänskä, Kurt Masur (at the Orchestre National de France) and Sir Colin Davis.

Wachs’s versatility and musical leadership have been recognized by prestigious institutions such as the Wolfgang Sawallisch Institute in Munich, where he led conducting masterclasses, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Houston Symphony, where he served as cover conductor. He has also prepared orchestras for Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Spivakov and Stanislas Skrowaczewski.

During 2024-2025, Wachs served as Visiting Conductor & Caine Scholar Mentor at Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts. From 2006-2022, Wachs served as Associate Professor, Director of Orchestral Activities & Director of the Undergraduate Conducting Program at Chapman University.

Concurrently, from 2008 to 2022, Wachs held the post of Music Director & Conductor of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra (OCYSO). Under his leadership, OCYSO achieved national recognition, toured Europe, and performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall at the invitation of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also led innovative collaborations with ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, Midori, and the Royal Philharmonic Society of Great Britain.

An accomplished pianist, Wachs’ performance with the Minnesota Orchestra “proved a revelation, delivering a technically impeccable, emotionally powerful performance of two Mozart piano concertos and a pair of solo works,” raved the St. Paul Pioneer Press. With the encouragement of Zubin Mehta, Wachs studied with Enrique Barenboim (père) in Tel Aviv before pursuing studies in Zürich and at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and graduating from The Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School. He has participated in festivals such as Aspen, Tanglewood, Sion, and Verbier, studying with Christoph von Dohnányi, Frühbeck de Burgos, Hans Graf, and David Zinman.

Wachs currently resides in Europe.

Wachs guided the ensemble with energy, precision, and a welcome sense of clarity and poise. The performance wasn’t just good by standards for younger performers, but forceful and exuberant by any standard: genuinely inspiring, technically proficient, structurally sound. The combined choruses were a powerhouse.

- Orange County Register