Daniel Darmesin Flanagan currently serves as Concertmaster of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, a position he has enjoyed since 2006, as well as Concertmaster of West Edge Opera and Instructor of Violin at University of California at Berkeley. Described as “one of the country’s most talented interpreters of contemporary music” by International Journal of Music, an “excellent violinist” and “true Renaissance man” by New York Concert Reviews, he has been praised for his “exquisite tones” and “forthright brio” by Sacramento Bee and his “excellent solos” by San Francisco Classical Voice.
Flanagan created The Bow and the Brush, an organization that commissions new music inspired by paintings and sculptures. With over 40 chamber and solo works by 25 composers, he has performed solo recitals across the United States and Europe, including Carnegie Hall, University of California, Boston University, University of Rome, Stern Pissarro Gallery, Crocker Art Museum, and The American Library in Paris. Several of these compositions can be heard on his album, The Bow and the Brush, which Fanfare Magazine called “Five Stars: A virtuoso exposition of violin playing, and a celebration of the intersection of art and music.” The Bow and the Brush Volume 2 will be released in 2027.
Flanagan has performed as concertmaster with the Oakland Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, California Symphony, California Musical Theater, Berkeley Symphony, Festival Opera, Symphony San Jose, Modesto Symphony, Symphony Napa Valley, and Opera Parallèle. He performs with San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Eco Ensemble, and Trio Solano. He is the founder of Berkelium String Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to performing the full cycle of Beethoven string quartets. He has previously appeared with the Sacramento Philharmonic as soloist in 2005 with the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, then in 2008 with the Beethoven Triple Concerto, Bach Concerto for Oboe and Violin, and Vivaldi Four Seasons. He has also been a soloist with the Bear Valley Symphony, Reno Baroque Ensemble, UC Davis Symphony, and UC Berkeley Symphony.
Prior to joining the faculty at UC Berkeley, Dan was Lecturer of Violin at UC Davis for ten years, Artist in Residence at American River College, and a regular coach and adjudicator for Sacramento Youth Symphony. He was a Visiting Artist at University of Oregon in 2025 and Visiting Professor at Conservatorio Lecinio Refice in Frosinone, Italy, in 2026. He currently creating Violinists of Note, the largest catalogue of historical violinists ever published.
As a composer, he has been commissioned by Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, International Arts Educators Forum, Cecilia String Quartet, Trio Solano, Farallon Quintet, Hunter’s Point Shipyard Artists, Shipyard Gallery, Gold Coast Chamber Players, Le Petit Festival, Arc Gallery, and Villa Maybeck. His compositions are published by American Composers Alliance, and his transcriptions are published by Asenda Music and Fennica Gherman.
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