Board of Directors

Erica Rose Smith
President

Liz Anastasi-Scott
Vice President

David Walton
Secretary

Adrianna Nerino
Treasurer

Tobiann Corbin-Reinhard
Member at Large

Alissa Vandenbark
Member at Large

Yvette Wilson
Marketing

Wayne Marquardt
Development

Victoria Alfred-Levow
Production

Daniel Schwartz - Artistic Director

Dan Schwartz began his musical studies with piano lessons at age seven. He soon took up jazz drumming, and by thirteen was studying classical percussion with Susan Jones, principal timpanist of the Pennsylvania Ballet; in high school, he took on both trumpet and voice lessons. From 2005 to 2009, Dan attended Temple University, studying percussion with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. At Temple, he also took voice lessons with retired Metropolitan Opera baritone David Arnold and received several undergraduate scholarships for his achievements. After receiving his Bachelor's degree, he was accepted into Temple University’s Master’s Program for Choral Conducting. Upon his graduation in 2011, Dan was honored with the Elaine Brown Award for musicianship, dedication to excellence, and humanitarianism.

After graduating, Daniel won the position of Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Voices of Pride. From 2013-2019, he served as choral director of Friends Select School. In 2016 he helped to found nationally renown vocal sextet Variant 6, and currently serves as co-artistic director and singer, where he travels to colleges around the country giving masterclasses with the group.

In addition to his conducting career, Dan’s profession as a classical singer continues to flourish. Since 2014 he has sung with the Opera Philadelphia chorus where he has performed a number of bit roles such as The Foreman in the east coast premiere of Oscar. Dan also sings with The Crossing and has performed on two of their Grammy winning albums. In 2014 he traveled to California to perform Louis Andriessen's De Materie with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and seven other singers from The Crossing, who also made their Carnegie Hall debut that year. In 2018 he made his debut as a soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra for Pat Metheny and the American Beat. Most recently, he performed with Variant 6 as the headlining group for ACDA’s Northwestern conference.

Daniel Espie - Accompanist

Philadelphia-based musician Daniel Espie, a multi-faceted performer who challenges expectations, is a classically trained pianist having studied at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance (BM 2013) and the Royal Academy of Music (MMus, 2016).

With the experience of an extensive international performing career, Daniel currently works as a collaborative pianist — performing recitals with singers and instrumentalists, accompanying choirs, and providing rehearsal and recording services to colleagues preparing for roles and applications.

While maintaining a busy concert calendar, he is also active in the Philadelphia theater circuit, having performed with orchestras at the Walnut Street Theatre, Media Theatre, Broadway Theatre of Pitman, Levoy Theatre, and The University of the Arts. He has proudly led productions as Music Director and Assistant Music Director at a few of the theaters mentioned above. His interest in theater is an extension of an unyielding curiosity for the impact of cross-medium collaboration and storytelling.

A lover of many styles and sounds, Daniel is a proud indie-rock musician and songwriter whose interest in keyboards extends from harpsichords and organs to vintage synthesizers and electric pianos. He can be found playing in bands like his most recent project, Brother Martin, Classic Albums Live, and with other loud and passionate music-makers in the area.