I'm Dan, a local San Diego bassoonist and the artistic director & founder of the Left Coast Quintet.
I'm originally from El Paso, TX, and have been a musician since I was tall enough to hit the keys on a piano. My parents knew how important music was and had me taking lessons at the neighborhood piano teachers house from a young age, then strumming a guitar and blowing a recorder through elementary school. I walked into middle school, the band director took one look at my gigantic hands and pointed me in the direction of a bassoon, and the rest is history. I picked up sax for some jazz and marching band (yes, I am a proud band nerd), and even gained experience in equipment logistics, conducting, and festival management!
I didn't know if I wanted to continue with music after high school, and moved to California to pursue a degree in City Planning from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Music followed me; bassoon is a pretty rare instrument and I was asked to perform all the time, so I formed a wind quintet to play at some weddings & a few parties, and we traveled to festivals all over California. Plus, I had the amazing opportunity to play with the SLO Symphony.
College came to an end, and as much as I dreaded leaving the beautiful Central Coast, San Diego isn't all that bad ;-) . I was still getting many calls to perform with local symphony, pit orchestra, opera, and touring music groups, but any musician knows that performing for live audiences is an addiction. I formed LCQ with my musical friends to have more opportunities to play in some of the most beautiful venues around San Diego, and it's been an amazing ride. Beyond just organizing rehearsals and music, I've had to learn business, advertising/marketing, client communication and information tracking, budgets, and much more while keeping the quintet moving forward.
I'm originally from El Paso, TX, and have been a musician since I was tall enough to hit the keys on a piano. My parents knew how important music was and had me taking lessons at the neighborhood piano teachers house from a young age, then strumming a guitar and blowing a recorder through elementary school. I walked into middle school, the band director took one look at my gigantic hands and pointed me in the direction of a bassoon, and the rest is history. I picked up sax for some jazz and marching band (yes, I am a proud band nerd), and even gained experience in equipment logistics, conducting, and festival management!
I didn't know if I wanted to continue with music after high school, and moved to California to pursue a degree in City Planning from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Music followed me; bassoon is a pretty rare instrument and I was asked to perform all the time, so I formed a wind quintet to play at some weddings & a few parties, and we traveled to festivals all over California. Plus, I had the amazing opportunity to play with the SLO Symphony.
College came to an end, and as much as I dreaded leaving the beautiful Central Coast, San Diego isn't all that bad ;-) . I was still getting many calls to perform with local symphony, pit orchestra, opera, and touring music groups, but any musician knows that performing for live audiences is an addiction. I formed LCQ with my musical friends to have more opportunities to play in some of the most beautiful venues around San Diego, and it's been an amazing ride. Beyond just organizing rehearsals and music, I've had to learn business, advertising/marketing, client communication and information tracking, budgets, and much more while keeping the quintet moving forward.
In my personal life, I'm married to a great gal, Michelle, who is a science nerd and enjoys dancing. We love to travel to destinations both new and old, and share a common affinity for the Boston area as we both spent lots of time there over the years.
Outside of music, I am an emergency manager for the State of California, and am responsible for emergency response and coordination for 11 Southern California counties. I love kickball, hiking, and checking out new restaurants. And of course...
Outside of music, I am an emergency manager for the State of California, and am responsible for emergency response and coordination for 11 Southern California counties. I love kickball, hiking, and checking out new restaurants. And of course...
...this is our pup, Watson, who is really one of the sweetest (and most spoiled) dogs in the world. We are normally out at Fiesta Island, OB, or Coronado dog beach, where he tries to be a SoCal beach dog but typically only gets his paws wet. He loves coming to rehearsals and sitting under the French horn player while chewing a treat.
That's really it for me, but I'd love to learn more about you! Give us a follow on Instagram (@leftcoastquintet) or Facebook (/leftcoastquintet) and we'll chat! Also, a great article about the business of live music that features me was published in July 2022, here is the link!
-Dan
[email protected]
That's really it for me, but I'd love to learn more about you! Give us a follow on Instagram (@leftcoastquintet) or Facebook (/leftcoastquintet) and we'll chat! Also, a great article about the business of live music that features me was published in July 2022, here is the link!
-Dan
[email protected]
