Daniel Swartz is an artist, musician, and composer based in Massachusetts that is inspired by creative work that asks questions and invites interaction. A graduate of Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College, Daniel studied music composition, tuba, and conducting while exploring collaborations across the arts and building community with studio-mates. 

 

While at Ohio University, Daniel co-founded capital A, an interdisciplinary arts collective, with Johanna Amaya-Conejo and Jo Rollins. capital A’s mission was to provide playful space for any and all creative people to expand, explore, and experiment. We hosted interactive, multi-disciplinary workshops twice a month, intermittent performances and happenings, social gatherings, and, in collaboration with the Ohio University School of Theater’s Fringe Festival, a campus-wide interdisciplinary arts festival.

 

Personally, Daniel’s work values curiosity, connection, history, and humor. They enjoy playing with the ways disparate bodies of information and practices interact and shape our perception. A nerd at heart, their research and creative practices combine to create work that provides commentary in context. Combining context with humor creates opportunities for all involved to ask more interesting questions and draw connections across boundaries. 

Their work has been performed by the Unheard-of//Ensemble, Kenari Quartet, and Jazzie Pigott. Conferences include Brushstrokes/Neon in the NAfME Student Composer Competition in 2021, Speak A Kind Word at the International Saxophone Symposium, the North American Saxophone Alliance, and SEAMUS in 2024, and Moth at Ohio University’s CLICKFest 2024.