Daniel Hege is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 orchestral conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

. He is the former music director of the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra

Syracuse Symphony Orchestra

The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra was a 79 member orchestra located in Syracuse, NY. In its time it was the 43rd largest orchestra in the United States and performed a variety of programs including the Post-Standard Classics Series and M&T Bank Pops Series....

 and currently the music director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra

Wichita Symphony Orchestra

The Wichita Symphony Orchestra is a Wichita, Kansas, United States, based orchestra strongly associated with the Wichita State University School of Music. Founded in 1944, it is one of very few professional Symphony Orchestras in Kansas....

. He also makes numerous guest appearances with orchestras across the country.

Biography

Hege was born in Colorado and raised in Idaho to parents Carl and Anne, who he names as his role models. He attended the First Mennonite Church in Aberdeen, Idaho. He began piano lessons at the age of nine and realized at that age that music would be his ruling passion.

He has majors in history and music at Bethel College

Bethel College (Kansas)

Bethel College is a private college affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. The college is located on the edge of the Flint Hills and the vast wheat fields of south central Kansas in the town of North Newton...

, graduating in 1987. His senior seminar paper was about how the composer Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....

 worked under the repressive Stalin regime in Russia in the mid-20th century.
And then went on to obtain a masters degree from the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 in orchestral conducting. While there he founded the University Chamber Orchestra.
He studied at the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

 with Daniel Lewis and at the Aspen Music Festival with Paul Vermel.

In 2004 Mr. Hege received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Le Moyne College

Le Moyne College

Le Moyne College, named after Simon Le Moyne, is a private, Jesuit college enrolling over 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946, Le Moyne is the first Jesuit college to be founded as a co-educational institution...

.

He is active as a guest clinician and adjudicates various musical competitions nationally.

He is married to violinist Katarina Oladottir Hege, has three daughters and lives in Jamesville, NY

Jamesville, New York

Jamesville is a hamlet in De Witt, Onondaga County, New York, United States, part of the greater Syracuse area.The history of the community is documented in the book Water, Wheels and Stone: Heritage of the Little Village by the Creek, Jamesville, New York, written by Jean Schutz Keough, and...

.

Positions held

• Music Director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra
  Wichita Symphony Orchestra
  The Wichita Symphony Orchestra is a Wichita, Kansas, United States, based orchestra strongly associated with the Wichita State University School of Music. Founded in 1944, it is one of very few professional Symphony Orchestras in Kansas....
  
   (September 2010-present)
• Music Director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
  Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
  The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra was a 79 member orchestra located in Syracuse, NY. In its time it was the 43rd largest orchestra in the United States and performed a variety of programs including the Post-Standard Classics Series and M&T Bank Pops Series....
  
   (April 1999–2011)
• Music Director of the Haddonfield
  Haddonfield, New Jersey
  Haddonfield is a borough located in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 11,593....
  
   Symphony, New Jersey
• Music Director of the Encore Chamber Orchestra in Chicago
• Music Director of the Chicago Youth Symphony
  Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras
  Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras is an orchestral organization in Chicago, Illinois that was founded in 1946 to provide music education and instrumental training of the highest quality to Chicago area youth.-Structure:...
  
   (was honored twice by the American Symphony Orchestra League for innovative programming while in this position)
• Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony
  Kansas City Symphony
  The Kansas City Symphony is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The current home of the Symphony is the Lyric Theatre, located in Downtown Kansas City on 11th Street between Wyandotte and Central Streets...
  
  
• Assistant, Associate and Resident Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony
  Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
  The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
  
   (1996–2001)
• Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Young Musicians’ Foundation Debut Orchestra in Los Angeles
• Musical Director of the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra
• Director of Instrumental Music at the Orange County High School of the Arts
  Orange County High School of the Arts
  Orange County High School of the Arts , colloquially called "OH-sha", is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, Orange County, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual and literary arts...
  
  
• Assistant Conductor of the Pacific Symphony
  Pacific Symphony
  The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra located in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall, part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California...
  
  

Guest Conductor Roles

Maestro Hege has performed as guest conductor for the following orchestras and festivals:

• Akron Symphony Orchestra
  Akron Symphony Orchestra
  The Akron Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in Akron, Ohio. The ASO was founded in 1949. In 2006, the ASO appointed Christopher Wilkins music director.The Akron Symphony Orchestra is operated by the Greater Akron Musical Association...
  
  
• Amarillo Symphony Orchestra
• Annapolis Symphony Orchestra
  Annapolis Symphony Orchestra
  The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra is based in Annapolis, Maryland, and has been in operation since 1962. Its founders included Kenneth W. Page, a well-respected civic leader in the Annapolis area during the 1960s. He was also the music director of the Annapolis High School band...
  
  
• Aspen Music Festival
• Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
  Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
  The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra was established in the early 1980s and has become one of New Zealand's major performing organisations. The instigation of its Composer-in-Residence programme in 1990 has made the orchestra an important force in the promotion of New Zealand composed...
  
  , New Zealand
• Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
  Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
  The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
  
  
• Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
  Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
  The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Its regular concert season features gala concerts, classics programming of core repertoire, Pops...
  
  
• Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
  Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
  The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra, based in Calgary, Alberta. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall of the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts...
  
  , Canada
• Charleston Symphony Orchestra
• Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
  Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
  The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Charlotte, North Carolina. As the largest and most active professional performing arts organization in the central Carolinas, the Charlotte Symphony plays approximately 100 performances each season and employs 100 professional...
  
  
• Columbus Symphony Orchestra
  Columbus Symphony Orchestra
  The Columbus Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Columbus, Ohio. The oldest performing arts organization in the city, its home is the Ohio Theatre. The orchestra's current President and Chief Creative Officer is Roland Valliere...
  
  
• Colorado Symphony Orchestra
  Colorado Symphony Orchestra
  Colorado’s only full-time professional orchestra, the Colorado Symphony embraces a tradition of musical excellence by presenting a diverse array of symphonic performances throughout the year...
  
  
• Dayton Symphony Orchestra
• Detroit Symphony Orchestra
  Detroit Symphony Orchestra
  The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...
  
  
• Eugene Symphony Orchestra
• Grand Rapids Symphony
  Grand Rapids Symphony
  The Grand Rapids Symphony is a regional orchestra located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. At the end of its 75th Anniversary Season, the Symphony made its debut in New York City’s Carnegie Hall on May 21, 2005. The Symphony has presented concerts throughout Michigan and is heard on broadcasts by WBLV...
  
  
• Grand Teton Music Festival
• Houston Symphony Orchestra
  Houston Symphony Orchestra
  The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. Since 1966, it has performed at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston....
  
  
• Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
  Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
  The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana.Annually, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performs 200 concerts for over 350,000 people. It is the largest performing arts organization in Indiana. The ISO is currently one of only 18 American...
  
  
• Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
  Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
  The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1921 and is now the third largest professional orchestra in Michigan. During the 2005–2006 concert season, the orchestra played for more than 100,000 people in more than 30 concerts...
  
  
• Kansas City Symphony
  Kansas City Symphony
  The Kansas City Symphony is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The current home of the Symphony is the Lyric Theatre, located in Downtown Kansas City on 11th Street between Wyandotte and Central Streets...
  
  
• Leicester Orchestra, England
• Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
  Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
  The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the Gulf South. The music director is Carlos Miguel Prieto....
  
  
• Louisville Orchestra
  Louisville Orchestra
  The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky and has been called the cornerstone of the Louisville arts scene. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney and Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville...
  
  
• Madison Symphony Orchestra
  Madison Symphony Orchestra
  The Madison Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Its conductor is John DeMain, who began his 14th season with the orchestra in the fall of 2007...
  
  
• Memphis Symphony Orchestra
  Memphis Symphony Orchestra
  -History:The Memphis Symphony Orchestra was established in its present form in 1960 as an outgrowth of the Memphis Sinfonietta, a chamber group formed eight years earlier under the direction of cellist Vincent DeFrank, with support from the Memphis Orchestral Society and the Memphis Arts...
  
  
• Music Academy of the West
  Music Academy of the West
  The Music Academy of the West is a music conservatory located in Montecito, California near Santa Barbara, California. Every year, it hosts a summer music festival for the community highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composers, conductors, and artists.A yearly maximum of 135...
  
  
• Oregon Symphony Orchestra
• Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
  Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
  The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra is one of Orlando's three unrelated per-service professional orchestras, the others being the Orlando Symphony Orchestra and the Bach Festival Society in residence at Rollins College. The OPO is based in Symphony Square at Loch Haven Park in Orlando, Florida, and...
  
  
• Naples Philharmonic Orchestra
• National Orchestra Institute
• National Repertory Orchestra
• North Carolina Symphony Orchestra
• Pacific Symphony Orchestra
• Phoenix Symphony Orchestra
• Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
  Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
  The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, Monroe County, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music....
  
  
• San Antonio Symphony Orchestra
• San Diego Symphony
  San Diego Symphony
  The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. On 6 December 1910, it gave its first concert as the San Diego Civic Orchestra.Currently, the Symphony performs over 100 concerts each season...
  
  
• Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra
  Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra
  The Santa Barbara Symphony is a full-time professional symphony orchestra and register 5013 nonprofit organization based in Santa Barbara, California.The orchestra was founded in 1953...
  
  
• Seattle Symphony Orchestra
• Singapore Symphony Orchestra
  Singapore Symphony Orchestra
  The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a 96 members professional symphony orchestra. Its main performing venue is the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore although it has also toured widely in Asia, Europe and the United States...
  
  
• Skaneateles Music Festival
• Spokane Symphony Orchestra
• St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Russia
• Symphony Orchestra of Lima, Peru
• Syracuse Opera
• Toledo Symphony Orchestra
  Toledo Symphony Orchestra
  Toledo Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra in Toledo, Ohio. It's the biggest "musical resource for the region". They perform in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana...
  
  
• Tulsa Symphony Orchestra
  Tulsa Symphony Orchestra
  The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was formed in 2005 by musicians from the Tulsa Philharmonic, which ended in 2002, and currently performs with Light Opera Oklahoma....
  
  

Recordings

• SSO Big Band Bash, 2006,
• Serenity Cedille, 2006, Label: Cedille
• SSO Holiday Pops, 2002
• SSO Classics Concert, 2000
• Violin Concertos by Black Composers of the 18th & 19th Centuries, 1999, Label: Cedille , with violinist Rachel Barton and the Encore Chamber Orchestra (which was nominated for a 1998 NPR Heritage Award)
• Done Made My Vow, works of Adolphus Hailstork performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Morgan State Choir
• The Gift, Label: Woodland Records, with oboist Brad Smith.