Educator

Equally at home in the classroom as on stage, Daniel Alfred Wachs brings a rare combination of artistry and pedagogy, bridging the academic and professional worlds. From his first appointment as Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College at the age of 23 to his most recent position as Visiting Professor and Caine Scholar at Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts, Wachs remains a tireless advocate for music education—while maintaining an active international career as a conductor and pianist.

Prior to his most recent appointment, Wachs served as Associate Professor, Director of Orchestral Activities, and Head of the Undergraduate Conducting Program at Chapman University’s Conservatory of Music in California. Under his mentorship, students attained international success on the podium and secured prominent administrative positions with organizations such as Steinway & Sons, the Smith Center, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. As Music Director and Conductor of The Chapman Orchestra, Wachs led the ensemble to new artistic heights, establishing it as one of the premier university orchestras on the West Coast.

A hallmark of Wachs’ tenure were interdisciplinary collaborations including Chapman University’s Global Arts Festival, Interplay Festival, numerous collaborations with the Pacific Symphony including the American Music Festival and side-by-side rehearsals and readings with The Chapman Orchestra, and An Evening of Holocaust Remembrance, a partnership with the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Studies, and other educational opportunities.

Concurrently, Wachs served as Music Director of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra (OCYSO), transforming it into an award-winning ensemble known for both its artistic achievements and robust community outreach. Under his leadership, OCYSO toured Europe twice, performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall at the invitation of the LA Philharmonic, and collaborated with artists such as Midori and the Kronos Quartet.

A central part of OCYSO’s mission—to introduce music into the lives of young people—was realized through the acclaimed Concerts for Fifth Graders, an iconic series at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Branded as “kids playing for kids,” the program combined live orchestral music, narration, and interdisciplinary performance including collaborations with the Anaheim Ballet to guide students through the instruments of the orchestra and basic compositional ideas. Wachs not only conducted these performances but also developed the original scripts, which have since been adopted by the Monterey and Palm Beach Symphonies. His commitment to including 20th- and 21st-century works—featuring harmonies and rhythms more familiar to younger ears—has been central to the program’s success. Over its 25+ year run, the series has reached more than one million students.

Both The Chapman Orchestra and OCYSO were featured on PBS and honored with The American Prize.

Wachs remains in frequent demand as a guest conductor, clinician, and competition jury member. He is a founding member of the Pacific Coast Conducting Clinic and was recently invited to give conducting masterclasses at the Wolfgang Sawallisch Foundation at the invitation of the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg.

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