Daniel Anastasio
A soloist and chamber musician based in San Antonio, Texas, pianist Daniel Anastasio combines an intellectual curiosity with “technical prowess and emotional sensitivity” (Rivard Report). His performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 3, conducted by Leon Fleisher with the Ithaca College Chamber Orchestra, was “the highlight to everyone’s ears, if the full-house of standing ovation were any indication” (ECM reviews). Anastasio was a concerto competition finalist at Cornell University, Stony Brook University, and The Juilliard School, where he won the Mieczyslaw Munz Scholarship. He received fellowships to Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, Kneisel Hall, and Yellow Barn Music Festival.
In addition to co-founding Agarita, Anastasio is an active proponent of new music, and is the co-founder and pianist of Unheard-of//Ensemble, a group that creates engaging interdisciplinary works in direct collaboration with emerging artists and composers across the United States, and tours actively.
The Director of Keyboard Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at San Antonio College, Anastasio received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Philosophy at Cornell University under Xak Bjerken, a Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School under Jerome Lowenthal, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University, under Gilbert Kalish and Christina Dahl.