ANN DANIS, is a Professor of Music and the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Rhode Island.  She is in demand as a performer on violin and viola, clinician, and as a guest conductor throughout the country.  She founded the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra in 1991 and the Ocean State Youth Orchestra in 1999 and served as the Artistic Director and Conductor for both organizations.  Ann has served as an assistant conductor for the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the conductor of the Philharmonic’s Senior Youth Orchestra.  Locally, she has also conducted the Festival Ballet of Providence Orchestra, Ocean State Lyric Opera, Claflin Hill Symphony, the Franklin School for the Performing Arts Orchestra, and many joint endeavors between her professional chamber orchestra and organizations such as Sine Nomine, Schola Cantorum of Boston, Brown University Chorus, South County Chamber Singers, among others.  She has been a member of orchestras throughout the country as well as several professional chamber ensembles. 

Ms. Danis graduated with High Honors from the New England Conservatory of Music where she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in violin performance.  Her principle teachers at NEC were George Zazofsky and Joseph Silverstein.  She was a Graduate Assistant in early music and worked with such notables as Daniel Pinkham, Rudolph Kolisch, James Pappoutsakis, and Aldo Parisot.  At NEC, she studied conducting with Richard Pittman and later with Andrew Massey. 

Between 1990 and 2008, Ms. Danis has led All-State and Festival Orchestras in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Georgia, and New York.  Recognized by critics and audiences for her innovative and daring programming, Ms. Danis has demonstrated a firm commitment to the presentation of new works and exposing audiences to modern repertoire in a casual and informative setting.  Over the past fifteen years she has introduced many premiere works through her music ensembles including “Rage of the Heart” by Enrico Garzilli (World-Premiere), “State House" and "Bridging Time- A Sinfonietta for Strings" by Rhode Island composer Geoffrey Gibbs (World-Premiere), “Blind Allegory” by Nico Muhly (Rhode Island-Premiere) "A Triptych for the Millennium" by Providence composer Paul Nelson (World-Premiere), and the American premiere of "Dance of Grandmother Nohpat and the Dwarfking" by the Mexican composer Sylvestre Revueltas. 

Most recently, Ms Danis and a group of URI alumni traveled to Belize, Central America as part of the Belize Music Project.  There she conducted master classes for string students, conducting workshops for teachers, and guest conducted an ensemble from the Palotti Music School in Belize City.  The ensemble performed a benefit concert for the Palotti School including works by Dvorak, Brahms, and Corrette.

In 2008, Ann conducted the New York All-State String Orchestra at the Eastman School of Music and performed with Lesa Terry and the Women’s Jazz Orchestra of Los Angeles at the World Sacred Music Festival.  She is in the process of planning professional development opportunities for string educators and performances for professors and recent alumni of the University of Rhode Island nationally and internationally.  During the summer of 2009, several alumni will perform four concerts with Ms. Danis in France.  In October of 2009, many string alumni will be returning to URI to perform in a special concert with the URI Symphony featuring David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, as soloist. Ann has been the Music Director/Conductor of the Fall River Symphony Orchestra since 2003. 

Ann Danis

Professor of Music/Director of Orchestral Activities

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI  02881

(401) 874-2764 (Office)

e-mail: anndanis@uri.edu