DANIEL SUK, Artistic Director & Conductor
Daniel Suk is a globally acclaimed conductor and artistic director who has enjoyed a distinguished international career spanning more than three decades. With a profound foundation in classical music and a multicultural artistic vision, Daniel is known for blending tradition with innovation to shape the future of music and performing arts.
Born into a musical family—his mother a pianist and his father an opera singer—Daniel began his artistic journey as a pianist before discovering his passion for vocal performance in his late teens. In 1990, he was accepted into the prestigious Lucio Campiani National Music Conservatory in Mantova, Italy. He made his operatic debut in 1995 at the Opera House in Mantova and soon appeared at major venues across Europe, Asia, and North America, including Opera Verona, La Fenice in Venice, Opera Bologna, Los Angeles Opera, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royce Hall, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, and Opera Nice.
As a conductor and music director, Daniel has led orchestras and ensembles with both artistic excellence and innovative leadership. From 1996 to 1999, he served as conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of Mantova, specializing in Baroque and Classical masterworks, including the revival of overlooked repertoire. He went on to serve as Artistic Director and Conductor of L’Opera Laboratorio in Verona from 1998 to 2000, producing and conducting over 40 concerts and opera productions, including the world premiere of G. Gazzaniga’s L’Isola al Cina and numerous performances for the Verona Summer Opera Festivals.
Since returning to Los Angeles, Daniel has conducted at virtually every major concert venue in Southern California and has performed on more than 100 stages throughout the United States.
In 2011, he founded The Dream Orchestra, an all-professional ensemble that has become one of Southern California’s premier performing arts organizations. Under his artistic leadership, the orchestra has developed and presented a wide range of acclaimed symphonic concerts, ballet productions, choral masterworks, and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Notable productions include a full staging of Giselle with the Pasadena Civic Ballet during the pandemic, Korea Fantasy at Walt Disney Concert Hall featuring over 500 performers, and gala concerts with world-renowned soloists such as violinists Inmo Yang and Ye-Eun Choi, and pianists Fabio Bidini, Yeol-Eum Son, and Ray Ushikubo.
Daniel also serves as conductor of the Opera Chorus of Los Angeles, a professional vocal ensemble composed of some of the finest opera singers in the region. Together, they have performed major works such as Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and an annual Summer Choral Concert at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. His annual Opera Gala has featured celebrated voices including Julie Adams, Angel Blue, Joshua Guerrero, Seok Jong Baek, Karah Son, Vladimir Chernov, and Nicolas Brownlee, along with rising stars from major opera houses and international competitions.
Daniel is deeply committed to music education and outreach. He leads the Young Stars of Tomorrow program, which provides performance opportunities for exceptional young musicians from the Colburn School, OCSA, LACHSA, and other institutions, allowing them to appear as soloists with a professional orchestra. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Pacific Music Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall, an international summer festival that showcases elite performers and musical institutions from around the world.
As conductor of the Young Artists Orchestra of Los Angeles (YAOLA), Daniel nurtures emerging talent and fosters community engagement. YAOLA has performed at prominent venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the West Coast Youth Orchestra Festival, while also participating in outreach and charity concerts each year.
In addition to his work on the podium, Daniel is a respected mentor, lecturer, and advocate for arts entrepreneurship. He has led the Dream Philharmonic Lecture Series and given guest lectures and masterclasses at institutions including Yale University, UCLA, CalArts, and Gonzaga University. In 2021, he was appointed the inaugural Artistic Director of the Intergenerational Orchestra at Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), where he established a dynamic music program that now serves over 150 participants of all ages.
In 2024, Daniel launched Golda in Concert in collaboration with soprano Golda Zahra—a bold initiative aimed at engaging younger audiences through a fusion of opera, musical theatre, contemporary music, fashion, and culinary arts. This multidisciplinary concert experience offers a fresh and immersive approach to classical performance, reimagining the future of the art form.
Through visionary leadership, inclusive programming, and an unwavering dedication to excellence, Daniel Suk continues to inspire communities, mentor young artists, and connect global audiences through the transformative power of classical music.
MISSION
Founded in 2011, DOLA endeavors to enrich our community by promoting and presenting world-class performances. We seek to develop and present exciting, passionate classical music and cutting-edge performing arts and support future artists. We aim to bring classical music performances to our communities at the highest level in a way that is affordable and accessible to all. Great music is truly for everyone. The members of Dream Orchestra are world-class studio musicians and graduate students from top music institutions worldwide. Since its inception, Dream Orchestra has performed at every major concert venue throughout Los Angeles and Orange County.
Dream Orchestra and the Dream Philharmonic Society work together to provide works to our local musicians and bring world-class musicians to our community. Dream Orchestra has contracted more than 500 local musicians and given solo performance opportunities to world-class musicians and singers. Dream Orchestra works with many top classical music agents and managers, such as IMG, International, Columbia Artists, and Concert Artists Guild.
DO and Philharmonic Society support other musical organizations, including Metropolitan Opera Western Region, Los Angeles Young Artists, Zachary Opera Competition, Mentory Opera Competition, and I Palpiti.
For the communities, DO has raised more than $20,000.00 for charities and given more than $15,000.00 in scholarships to high school graduates and young musicians. Dream Orchestra works hard to cultivate the next generations of orchestra musicians and audiences through the Young Artists Youth Orchestra program. Young Artists Orchestra has 100 members, and its purpose is to serve our communities with orchestral concerts.
DREAM ORCHESTRA INC. is a non-profit organization under the code 501(c)(3)
Artistic Director and Conductor: Daniel Suk
Orchestra Director: Caster J. Teoh
PATRONS:
Dream Philharmonic Society (Mrs. Yoon Kahm, president)
Chanil Foundation, Colburn Foundation, Ahmanson Foundation,
June Lee Contemporary Art, General Business, Paramount Studio, Urth Caffe Inc.
PARTNERSHIP:
Ebell of Los Angeles (Stacy Brightman, CEO)
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
Archbishop José Horacio Gómez & Msgr. Antonio Cacciapuoti
Omni Hotel downtown (Year End Gala)
MEDIA PARTNERS:
K-Mozart, KUSC, KPCC, KCRW, LA Arts, Santa Monica Mirror, Beverly Hills Courier, Korea Times, Radio Seoul, Daily Korean News, Chinese Daily, Channel 18 TV.