Dan Wions
Founder and Head Consultant
Music has been an integral part of Dan’s life since early childhood. He began studies on piano at the age of two, composition at age five, and finally the (French) horn at age nine. His performance experience is extensive, ranging from orchestral, concert band, chamber music, and solo repertoire, to pop, show tunes, and jazz.
As a Hornist, Dan has worked under the baton of such prestigious conductors as James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson Thomas, Manfred Honeck, Sir Andrew Davis, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel, Michael Stern, Stefan Sanderling, and Eri Klas, among others. He has subbed on Broadway and toured with Dave Brubeck, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra Jr., Patti Lupone, Anne Murray, Leann Rhimes, Clay Aiken, Jack Jones, The Irish Tenors, Ronan Tynan, and Josh Groban. Dan has performed as a soloist with the National Concert Party (Chamber Orchestra of America) at the Kennedy Center, the Massapequa Philharmonic, and the Bucks County Choral Society. He was recently appointed as Second horn of the Chamber Orchestra of New York. Other special honors include being a finalist in the most recent Calgary Philharmonic Associate Principal Horn and Hartford Symphony Principal Horn auditions, performing with the Washington Symphony on September 11, 2002 on Capital Hill. Teachers include Michelle Baker, Myron Bloom, Scott Brubaker, Tony Cecere, Peter Gordon, Michael Hatfield, Rick Seraphinoff, and Chris Wilhjelm. Dan holds a BM in Horn Performance, with outside studies in piano and composition, from Indiana University. He is a former faculty member of the Westminster Conservatory of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ, and currently teaches during the summer at the Summertrios chamber music festival (www.Summertrios.org). He has been a participant at the FAME festival and the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland. Dan is also a member of the prestigious Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, with which he holds a residence during the summer, and tours during the fall.
Dan has been successfully marketing himself as a cocktail pianist since his sophomore year in High School. In 2000, he was selected to play piano at a reception held for the Dalai Lama in Bloomington, IN. And, in 2004, he was asked to play a benefit concert on piano for the Guggenheim Foundation. Dan has performed regularly for Nordstrom Department stores, Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt Regency Hotels (among others), and countless holiday parties, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, Birthday parties, and corporate events for such big name clients as:
H David Meyers – Former CEO of Time Saver Mastercard and Visa
Lance Boxer – Current IPC executive, formerly of Lucent Technologies
David Simon – CEO of Simon Property Group, owner of Simon Malls
Vivian Sarota of The Guggenheim Foundation
Indiana University
Princeton University
Westminster Choir College
Dan resides in Hillsborough, NJ, freelancing and teaching primarily in the NJ, NY, CT, PA, DE and Washington DC areas.
