Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser
Conductor
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A passionate communicator, Canadian conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. Daniel is an innovative creative visionary, who believes that the beauty of music can heal and unite all of us beyond differences.
Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser holds the positions of Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education at the San Francisco Symphony, the Barrett Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Daniel is also the Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia, conducting Ballet and Pops with national and international artists and designing diverse and relevant family and outreach shows for the Halifax community. He is the host of the weekly, national Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio show Centre Stage – with Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser.
Daniel has conducted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony in the US and the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, and Regina Symphony in Canada. He was a guest conductor with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Centre in 2020. Additionally, Daniel has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. In April 2022, Daniel made his debut with Carnegie Hall’s Link Up Orchestra, conducting the world premiere of “Ram Tori Maya” by Indian American composer Reena Esmail and “We Shall Not Be Moved,” arranged by American vocalist and composer Nathalie Joachim.
Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser was featured in the 2019 CBC documentary Disruptor Conductor, directed by Sharon Lewis. Along with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Thorgy Thor, the documentary follows Bartholomew-Poyser as he collaboratively creates the first orchestral drag queen show in Canada, titled Thorgy and the Thorchestra. The award-winning documentary focuses on Bartholomew-Poyser’s concerts for the Neurodiverse, Prison, African Diaspora and LGBTQ2S+ populations.
Daniel holds a Bachelor of Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser is a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Jean-Marie Beaudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting. He has been awarded RBC Royal Bank Emerging Artist Grant and the Canada Council for the Arts Jean Baudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting. Daniel is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
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February 2, 2023: Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser Is Breaking Down Barriers …And Feeling Thorgeous!
- IN MagazineFebruary 22, 2022: Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser Conducts San Francisco Symphony’s Micheal Morgan Tribute
- San Francisco Classical VoiceSeptember 11, 2019: Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser Stars in ‘Disruptor Conductor’ Documentary
- CBC -
CLASSICAL MUSIC HAS A DIVERSITY PROBLEM. WHAT DOES THE SOLUTION LOOK LIKE?
“Historically, composers of color have had a much harder time getting their music performed and workshopped,” says Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, chair of the EBCP selection committee and the San Francisco Symphony’s resident conductor of engagement and education. “[The] project is an attempt to address some of that, and to provide points of access to young people from a community that has often previously been denied access.”
– Iris Kwok, KQEDSAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY HONORS MICHAEL MORGAN’S MEMORY WITH PROGRAM HE PLANNED
“The third member of Thursday’s conductorial tag team was Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, who recently joined the Symphony’s staff as resident conductor of engagement and education. Together with mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson and the men of the Symphony Chorus led by Anthony Trecek-King, he brought an interior glow to Brahms’ “Alto Rhapsody” and a high degree of expressive directness to three spirituals (“My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord,” “Give Me Jesus” and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”) in luminous arrangements by composer Jack Perla.”
– Joshua Kosman, DatebookTHE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA WELCOMES DANIEL BARTHOLOMEW-POYSER AS PRINCIPAL YOUTH CONDUCTOR AND CREATIVE PARTNER
“Daniel is a wonderfully engaging, passionate and dedicated ambassador for all that is vibrant about symphonic music. He brings his great talent and experience to bear in conceiving and leading projects that use the orchestra and its stages to connect with listeners from all walks of life.”
– Newswire, La Scena MusicaleWITH A LITTLE HELP FROM A FAMOUS DRAG QUEEN, DANIEL BARTHOLOMEW-POYSER IS RE-IMAGINING THE SYMPHONY
“Bartholomew-Poyser works with orchestras across North America, conducting and creating shows and concerts that connect with “specific target audiences and diverse groups” that are usually not populations traditionally associated with the orchestral world. One fabulous example? His teaming up with Symphony Nova Scotia and RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Thorgy Thor to create Thorgy and the Thorchestra, the first orchestral drag show in Canada. And its the journey they undertook together that’s at the heart of the new documentary Disruptor Conductor, which is airing on CBC this Thursday as part of CBC Doc POV.”
– Peter Knegt, CBC