Daniel Tan

Australian-Chinese violinist, Daniel Tan, currently serves as Sub-Principal Second Violin of the Auckland Philharmonia and has been a member of the orchestra since October 2025. Prior to his current role with the orchestra, Daniel was Acting Associate Concertmaster with the Rogue Valley Symphony (Oregon, United States) for two seasons, including multiple appearances as Guest Concertmaster. He has also been a tenured member of the California Symphony first violin section since 2022. While studying for his Master of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Daniel performed alongside venerated ensembles such as The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and New Century Chamber Orchestra and lead the conservatory symphony orchestra as concertmaster. Before living in the US, Daniel was an active freelance musician in Melbourne, regularly performing with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic and Melbourne Opera Orchestras.

Daniel has appeared as a soloist with the Grainger Wind Symphony and performed in masterclasses for Augustin Hadelich, Rachel Barton Pine and Nemanja Radulovic. He has been coached by members of the Jupiter, Telegraph and Tinalley String Quartets and was a participant in the Australian Youth Orchestra Chamber Players program. He has been a finalist in the Margeret Sutherland Bursary Competition, and Monash University Concerto and Aria Competition as well as a Semi-Finalist at the Gisborne International Music Competition (New Zealand) and Kendall National Violin Competitions (Australia).

Daniel completed both a Master of Music and Professional Studies Certificate (Concertmaster Track) at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied with Cordula Merks and Kay Stern. Prior to this, Daniel completed his Bachelor of Music with Honours at Monash University studying with Sophie Rowell and Elizabeth Sellars. Daniel was the recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Concertmaster Scholarship, Monash Scholarship for Excellence, Anna Chmiel Memorial Trust Fund Prize, the Dean’s Recognition Award and the Faculty of Arts Honours Merit Scholarship. He further attained a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Economics) from the same institution, for which he was awarded a University Medal for Undergraduate Excellence by the faculty of Business and Economics. During the completion of his undergraduate studies, Daniel also attended the Aspen Music Festival and New York University Summer Strings Program.