“Danielle Jagelski is a prime example of socially responsive artistry in the 21st century.” - I Care If You Listen

Danielle Jagelski is a composer, conductor, and creative producer.

“At once timeless and of its time, it expands your heart and mind with every note, telling a story of grief and love that is as honest as it is hopeful.” (Oregon ArtsWatch)

“Danielle Jagelski is a prime example of socially responsive artistry in the 21st century.” (I Care If You Listen)

Danielle is the Artistic Director of Renegade Opera, Producer for First Nations Performing Arts, Co-Founder of Simmer Arts, and Manhattan School of Music Pre-College faculty. An avid composer of song, chamber, solo, and choral works, Danielle’s music has been performed throughout North America including at notable venues such as Performance Space New York, Roulette Intermedium, Green Room 42, and The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

As an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe, Danielle often collaborates with other Indigenous artists in multidisciplinary creative projects in order to sustain and further the visibility of Indigenous peoples in the contemporary arts realm. Danielle is a fierce advocate for equity in musical spaces, and has presented her research on Indigenous classical music, Decolonization, and kinship building practices throughout the country.

Recent commissions and collaborations have been with Voices of Ascension|Voices of the New, New Native Theatre, North American Indigenous Songbook and Timothy Long, Boston Opera Collaborative, Colleen Bernstein- Percussionist, MUSE Cincinnati Women's Choir, Hear Us Hear Them, and the Sister Singers Network. Upcoming premieres are “Holy Ground” for 5 voices and percussion by Voices of Ascension, “The Song My Paddle Sings” by the Sister Singers Network, and “Shadow River” for the North American Indigenous Songbook, along with her first opera with playwright/librettist Rhiana Yazzie, “Little Ones”. She is a recipient of grants and fellowships from Opera America, The Plimpton Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and Native Arts and Cultures, as well as earning a distinction award from the National Opera Association.

Sought out for her execution of contemporary opera-theatre works as a conductor, recent conducting engagements include NEXTGen3 with Beth Morrison Projects, Missing by Brian Current at Anchorage Opera, Scalia/Ginburg at Opera Ithaca, the US premieres of Never to Return by Karen Sunabacka, Adam’s Run by Ruby Fulton, Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly, among others. Upcoming conducting engagements include Lingít Opera at Perseverance Theatre, Scalia/Ginsburg at Raylynmor Opera, and Waking the Witch by Ashi Day.

In addition to her performance work, Danielle enjoys working behind the scenes in creative production and music preparation. She is the music preparer /copyist for Sillhouettes by Ari Afar and Jordan Ealy, orchestrator/arranger for The Carlisle Project by Ronee Penoi and Annalisa Dias, and works as music copyist for Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate. She has produced events throughout Lenapehoking featuring contemporary Indigenous performers, composers, and arts workers.

Danielle is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Indigenous Media Guild, Girls Who Conduct, and has been the recipient of grants from Opera America, Oregon Community Foundation, The Plimpton Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts , and Native Arts and Cultures . She was granted 2nd place in the 2023 National Opera Association Awards for her work on Dark Sisters and was resident artist at Berkeley Repertory Theatre for the Ground Floor Summer Residency in 2024.

Danielle studied classical composition at Hamline University with Jannika Vandervelde, and completed her conducting studies at Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Jos Vermunt, with further studies at Manhattan School of Music with George Manahan. Her artistic mentors include Timothy Long, Reiko Fueting, and Rhiana Yazzie.