Daniel Farris is in his sixth year as assistant professor of music with Southwestern Oklahoma State University and with the music staff of First Presbyterian Church of Elk City, OK. He is the vocal area coordinator of Southwestern’s music department and works in conjunction with Drs. Kristin and Robin Griffeath to teach opera music theater and other choral and vocal topics to performance, education, and music therapy majors. Daniel also serves as a judge for the national music competition The American Prize, and is an adjudicator and music advisory board member of the Oklahoma Arts Institute.  For sixteen years, Daniel has worked professionally as a choral conductor, tenor soloist, adjudicator, and voice professor.

Currently, Daniel performs as a tenor chorister/soloist and conductor in Oklahoma and the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and is a regional and international scholar, having presented topics and research for the Athens Institute of Education and Research (2010 Athens, Greece), Southwestern American Choral Directors Association (2012 Dallas, TX), and other conferences. He has conducted honor choirs in Texas and Oklahoma, including the Tri-State Honor Choir (2011, 2012, and the coming 2013 festival), SWOSU Chamber Choir (OMEA 2011), the Western Oklahoma Choral Directors Association Junior High Honor Choir (2008), and the Arlington High School Colt Chorale (TMEA 2005). Daniel has performed with the Dallas Opera Chorus (2001-2002), and has performed with choirs in Italy and England. Daniel continues to be a guest artist with groups in the southwestern United States, including the Arts District Chorale (Dallas) and the Denton Bach Society (Denton, TX).

Daniel completed his doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting from the University of North Texas. In addition to his career in music, he also teaches arnis, a Filipino martial art he has taught for fourteen years after having tested with Grandmaster Ernesto Amador Presas for his Lakan Isa ranking in 1998. He teaches arnis through the SWOSU Continuing Education department's "Filipino Martial Culture" course.  Daniel holds both Lakan (1st degree black belt of Modern Arnis) and Lakan Dalawa (2nd degree black belt of Kombatan arnis) rankings.  Daniel also conducts wine tastings for benefits in western Oklahoma and attends master sommelier wine tastings quarterly in Dallas, TX, to continue his passion in oenology.

Daniel lives in the Weatherford/Thomas area with his wife, Angela, and his three children Anthony, Amelia, and Daphne.

Feel free to view his website and the Department of Music website of Southwestern Oklahoma State University.  For more information or questions, contact him at daniel.farris@swosu.edu or 580.774.3208.

http://faculty.swosu.edu/daniel.farris/