The Verde Valley Sinfonietta presents its third concert of the 2022-2023 season under the direction of guest conductor Daniel O’Bryant, one of four finalists in the Sinfonietta’s season-long search for a new music director.

The concert also features guest violinist Steven Moeckel, performing the ‘Violin Concerto in D minor’ of Jean Sibelius, on Sunday Feb. 5, at 2:30 p.m. in the Sedona Performing Arts Center. Antonín Dvorák’s ‘Symphony No. 8’ and Adam Schoenberg’s ‘Canto’ round out the program.

Dr. Daniel Keith O’Bryant currently serves as Director of Orchestras at Northern Arizona University, where he leads the NAU Symphony, Chamber, and Opera Orchestras.

Prior appointments include Music Director of the Heartland Symphony, Associate Conductor of the St. Cloud Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Salt Lake Opera Company, Director of Orchestras at St. Cloud State University, and Founding Director of the Utah Chamber Players.

As a conductor and educator, O’Bryant has appeared with orchestras throughout the United States, including the Missouri Philharmonic, the University of Oregon Symphony, the University of Denver Symphony, the Arizona State University Opera Theatre, the Phoenix Youth Symphony, the Keweena Symphony, the Flagstaff Symphony, among others. He has coached rehearsals with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Eastman School of Music Philharmonia, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Orchestras, the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, the Bakersfield Symphony and the Omaha Symphony.

As a string bassist, he performed with many professional ensembles and for numerous Hollywood films and was instructor of string bass at Utah Valley University and St. Cloud State University. He received a full fellowship to study bass at the Aspen Music Festival and, as a competition winner, has soloed with orchestras in the United States and Europe.

As concerto soloist, concertmaster, and recitalist, violinist Steven Moeckel has engaged audiences and critics worldwide with his virtuosity, vivid characterization, and uncanny ability to capture the very essence of a work. He was invited to China under the auspices of the newly formed Ling Tung Foundation and was the first Western violinist to perform the beloved violin concerto, The Butterfly Lovers, with a Chinese orchestra.

Steven Moeckel has performed with Leon Fleisher and Menahem Pressler at Chicago’s famous Ravinia Festival and frequently appears in concert with William Wolfram. Notable performances include recitals at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, the Colorado College Music Festival, and the Sunriver Music Festival.

He most recently recorded an album with Indiana University pianist, Joanna Goldstein, celebrating the works of women composers during the time of Suffrage, and in 2021 released his first solo violin album, ‘Sei Solo,’ available on CD and for digital download.

In 2020 Steven was awarded a violin professorship at Northern Arizona University. He has served as concertmaster of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony, and in 2019 won the concertmaster position of the Santa Fe Opera. He performs on a c. 1840 Vuillaume violin.

This concert is co-sponsored by John and Ann Steinbrunner, and Al and Gloria Vander Peut. Ticket prices are $15-$65 (half-price for children) and are available on the Sinfonietta website at VVSinfonietta.org.