ANN DANIS is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Rhode Island.   A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, Ms. Danis holds a Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance.   Her principal teachers were George Zazofsky and Joseph Silverstein; she also studied conducting with Richard Pitman, and chamber music with Daniel Pinkham, Aldo Parisot, James Pappoutsakis, and Stephanie Chase.   An active performer on violin and viola, Ms. Danis was the founder of the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra, Rhode Island's only professional chamber orchestra from 1990-2006 and her position grew to encompass the role of Artistic Director of the Ocean State Music Collaborative under which these professional productions and opportunities for youth education in music thrived.   Ms. Danis served as both assistant and guest conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Quincy Symphony, Claflin Hill Symphony, Festival Ballet of Providence, Franklin (MA) Performing Arts Company, and many other regional professional and amateur orchestras.   For many years she led the advanced Symphonia for the Ocean State Youth Orchestra program, and the Senior ensemble of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestras.

In her role as an Associate Professor of Music at URI, Ms. Danis conducts the University Symphony, teaches undergraduate and graduate-level violin and viola, courses in Advanced Orchestral Conducting, String Pedagogy, String Methods, Chamber Music, and Basic Musicianship for the general college community.   She also holds the position of Music Director of the Fall River (MA) Symphony Orchestra.   She is in demand as a performer, clinician, and guest conductor throughout the nation.   Since 1990, Ann has lead All-State or Festival Orchestras in every New England State, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, and most recently in New York for the Long Island (NY) String Festival Association in Nassau and Suffolk counties.   She has provided valuable leadership as a string pedagogue in workshops and master-classes throughout the nation including sessions at the University of California- Long Beach, the Concord (NH) Community Music School, the Maine All-State Festival, and at home in Rhode Island as part of the Rhode Island Music Educators Association and Rhode Island String Teachers Association.

Ann Danis has been a member of numerous orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the country, most recently as a member of the Women's Jazz Orchestra of Los Angeles (CA) for their 2006 debut at the Playboy® Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl.   Other recent performance projects include recording sessions with jazz artist Joe Parillo, premiere recordings of works by the French composer Eliane Aberdam, and a chamber music recital as part of the URI University Artist Series.  

An advocate for the development and performance of new musical works, Ms. Danis has premiered many compositions with both the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra and the University of Rhode Island Symphony Orchestra.   Some include Rage of the Heart by Enrico Garzilli, Celestial Harmonies by Paul Philips, State House and Bridging Time by Geoffrey Gibbs, Blind Allegory by Nico Muhly, A Triptych for the Millennium by Paul Nelson, Firebird by Tim Girard, and music by the Mexican composer Sylvestre Revueltas.

Audio Sample: Light Cavalry Overture (excerpt)
                        URI Symphony Orchestra