ANN DANIS is a Professor of Music and the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Rhode Island.  As a performer on violin and viola, clinician, and as a guest conductor, Ann travels and performs throughout the county and internationally.  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 served as an assistant conductor for the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the conductor of the Philharmonic’s Senior Youth Orchestra, and locally has conducted the Festival Ballet of Providence Orchestra, Ocean State Lyric Opera, Claflin Hill Symphony, and the Franklin School for the Performing Arts Orchestra.  She led 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 and continues as an active collaborator with the ensembles that she currently leads including the Fall River Symphony and the URI Symphony.  Ann has been a member of orchestras throughout the country and continues performing with 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 2010, 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, Ann 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 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.  

Among her more recent international work, Ms Danis traveled to Belize, Central America where she conducted master classes for string students and conducting workshops for teachers at the Palotti Music School in Belize City.  She has performed multiple times with URI alumni and faculty in both Belize City and Balmopan and also guest conducted a string ensemble from the Palotti School.  Ann has also presented independent chamber music concerts and participated in several festivals in the south of France in the past several years through her collaborative ensemble Les Femmes Internationales (International Women).  Again working with URI alumni and professional musicians from the US and France, these concerts have involved works by European, American, and Latin American composers of the past and present.

Ms. Danis served as concertmaster for jazz violinist Dr. Lesa Terry’s Women’s Jazz Orchestra of Los Angeles at the World Sacred Music Festival in 2008 and as part of the orchestra at its debut performance at the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in 2006. In October of 2009, she brought URI Artist in Residence and concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, David Kim back to Rhode Island for a special performance with the URI Symphony and string alumni.  Her work as an advocate for string and music education as well as the development of audiences has resulted in countless grants from both public and independent foundations throughout New England and most recently Ann received a $6,000 award from the Foundation for the Advancement of String Education, which will serve to establish a scholarship fund at the URI Foundation.   

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