Daniel Brondel is the product of both French upbringing and American college and graduate education. He graduated from high school in the United States and attended college in Atlanta at Georgia State University. His upbringing and early music training in France prepared him for some of the most enriching practical training, particularly as French diction coach for the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
The competition prizes and awards he won during those years gave him a competitive edge toward acceptance at the world-famous Eastman School of Music, in Rochester, NY, for his graduate studies. Academic and performance scholarships were instrumental in his earning a Master’s Degree at Eastman and pursuing doctoral studies in his field.
Through his studies, performances and professional experiences, he has aspired to become a well-rounded musician. His musical and technical skills have been recognized in national organ competitions and critically acclaimed opera performances, and they have prepared him for the requirements of high-profile church positions, both in Rochester and in New York City.
His position as Associate Director of Music at New York’s Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, which he has held since 2008, entails among others the management of the organ recitals series, which features concert organists from all over the world. He actively encourages and invites French colleagues to play concerts at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral each season, and he has had the privilege to be invited to perform organ concerts in notable churches and cathedrals in France. In his concerts he always plays a balance of French and American music. In his duties as organist at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, he often performs French organ music spanning from the baroque to the romantic to contemporary, because it is rarely heard over here.
He had the great honor of directing his youth choir (the Cathedral of Saint Patrick Young Singers) and playing the organ during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to New York in April 2008, and once again this past September for Pope Francis’ visit to New York.
His personal and professional mission is to make this a better world by bridging the cultures of France and America and by improving the lives of others through his music making.