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The German-born American conductor and baritone, Daniel Henriks, obtained his Bachelor of Music in Solo/Opera singing from the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (1995-1997); and his Master of Music degree in Voice/Opera from The Juilliard School (1997-2000).
Daniel Henriks was Conductor and Co-Founder of the Junge Philharmonie Ruhr in Essen from January 1991 to December 1996, during the formative years of his conducting career in Germany. He began a musical life that would develop across both the podium and the operatic stage. He also conducted the Philharmonia George Enescu Botoșani in Botoşani, Romania (October-December 1995); National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in Kyiv (September-October 1996); Philharmonia Hungarica in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia Freelance (March-April 2001).
From August 2000 to June 2020, Daniel Henriks had an international career as an operatic dramartic baritone, with engagements at major opera houses and concert halls throughout Europe, including Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Köln, Oper Zürich, Theater an der Wien and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. His festival appearances at the Wiener Festwochen, Festival Mozart Coruña and the Edinburgh Festival have further solidified his reputation as an accomplished artist. Equally at home on the concert stage, he has captivated audiences at venues like the Cologne Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Konzerthaus Dortmund, as well as through performances on Norddeutsche Rundfunk. That career placed him at the center of the operatic repertoire and gave him a comprehensive perspective on the relationship between stage and pit, text and orchestral gesture, dramatic structure and musical architecture. He was an ensmble member of tht Staatsoper Hannover (2001-2006).
His years as a performer added another perspective to the conductor he had already been and continue to shape the way he thinks about interpretation, collaboration and performance. With a career spanning international stages, he has garnered acclaim for his dynamic interpretations of both orchestral and choral masterpieces.
Daniel Henriks permanently relocated to the Carmel area in California prior to 2020 to live with his wife. Before the COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel, he frequently commuted between California and Europe for his international operatic and conducting engagements. Now based in California, he has established an active conducting presence on the Central Coast. Guest Conductor for Espressivo Chamber Orchestra’s Romantique (since June 2025), conducting Berlioz' Les nuits d’été, Arthur Honegger’s Pastorale d’été, and Georges Bizet's Symphony in C, with soprano Emily Sinclair. Performances in Monterey and Santa Cruz, California. He has also appe appeared at Sunset Center and Carmel’s Forest Theater. Since August 2021, he is Artistic Director and Conductor I Cantori di Carmel in Carmel, California. Since June 2025, he is Conductor Since January 2006, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Opera Carmel, a resident operatic presence on the Monterey Peninsula and an annual opera tradition in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Daniel Henriks' conducting repertoire boasts major works from the orchestral canon, ranging from Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn to Haydn and Tchaikovsky, as well as compositions by 20th-century composers. His dedication to choral excellence is evident in performances of revered works by J.S. Bach, J. Brahms, W.A. Mozart, L.v. Beethoven, Puccini, and Zoltán Kodály. |
