Daniel Cho

Assistant Conductor

Daniel Cho is a Korean-American conductor and violinist based in Oregon, where he currently serves as the Conducting Fellow of the Eugene Symphony, as well as Assistant Conductor of the Oregon Mozart Players and Eugene Opera. In addition to his professional work, Daniel studies Orchestral Conducting as a Graduate Employee at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance under the tutelage of Dr. David Jacobs. In 2020, Daniel launched a podcast that he hosts and produces called Con Fuoco. The objective of the podcast is to discuss the current state of the field of classical music and where it is headed in the future. Guests of the show have included violinist Alexi Kenney, award-winning author and historian Jan Swafford, President and Artistic Director of the Sphinx Organization Afa Dworkin, and acclaimed composer Jessie Montgomery.

Daniel began his journey as a conductor at the age of sixteen, when he was selected to be Assistant Conductor of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony, where he also served as concertmaster. He continued his music education with a Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance from New England Conservatory in Boston, MA and upon its completion in 2016, began a Master’s Degree in Conducting at the same institution in 2017. In 2018, Daniel was selected as a Conducting Fellow by the Vienna Summer Music Festival, studying with Maestros Christian Schulz, Wolfgang Scheidt, and Simeon Pironkoff and was chosen amongst fourteen conductors for an engagement with Ensemble PHACE, an acclaimed Vienna-based contemporary ensemble. During the same year, he attended the International Conducting Institute Czech Republic Workshop in Kroměříž, studying with Maestros Tomas Netopil, Neil Varon, and Tsung Yeh and led the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in a performance at the Archbishop’s Palace.

When not making music, Daniel enjoys reading books on social psychology and history, watching comedy and horror films, and walking with his red golden retriever, Lucy.

Farayi Malek

Guest vocalist

Farayi Malek is a jazz and contemporary vocalist, composer, and educator. She received her bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory of Music in 2017 where she studied with vocalist and composer, Dominique Eade. Upon completion, she continued on to receive a master’s degree in Contemporary Performance at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2018, under the tutelage of world-renowned pianist and composer, Danilo Perez. Since 2018, Farayi has been a member of Danilo Perez’s Global Messengers. Their 2022 album Crisalida was nominated for a Grammy Award the the category of “Best Latin Jazz Album.”

In addition to her performance ventures, Farayi Malek is a passionate music educator. In January of 2020, she founded Allegro Virtual Preparatory Instruction, LLC, an online learning platform that strives to provide students with access to the highest possible level of preparation for the study of music in higher education in order to maximize the chance of admittance, scholarship funding, and to build foundational skills for success and heightened creativity. Beyond helping students develop the necessary technical, performance, and professional skills, Allegro Virtual Prep strives to inspire each student to be socially conscious, and to use their music to make a positive impact in their own communities. In September 2021, Farayi joined the faculty at Berklee College of Music as Assistant Professor in the Ensemble Department, as well as Pop Ensemble teacher at Berklee’s City Music Boston High School Academy. In January 2022, she joined faculty at New England Conservatory.

Dmitri Shostakovich | Festive Overture

José Pablo Moncayo | Huapango

Armed Forces Salute

John Philip Sousa | Washington Post (with Auction Winner)

Camille Saint-Saëns | Cello Concerto, Movement I (with YAC 2nd Place Winner)

Camille Saint-Saëns | Danse Bacchanale from Samson et Delilah

INTERMISSION

Bizet | Carmen: Suite No. 1: V. Les toréadors

Mahler Symphony No. 3/I’ll Be Seeing You (Arranged by Daniel Cho and Farayi Malek)

Duke Ellington | It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing)

John Williams | Raiders March

Igor Stravinsky | Firebird 1919 Suite (Infernal Dance, Berceuse, and Finale)

*program subject to change