“Danielle Jagelski is a prime example of socially responsive artistry in the 21st century.” - I Care If You Listen (2023)
5 Questions with Danielle Jagelski
Danielle Jagelski is a composer, conductor, and creative producer. At home in both theatrical and orchestral realms, she is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Renegade Opera, Producer for First Nations Performing Arts, Associate Conductor of PROTESTRA, and Faculty at Manhattan School of Music Precollege.
Her performances have been described:
“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 is an avid writer of song, opera, choral, musical theatre, and narrative stories of all kinds. Her most recent premieres have been by Voices of Ascension|Voices of the New, New Native Theatre, MUSE Cincinnati Women’s Choir, Hear Us Hear Them Ensemble, American Patriots Project, and Artemis Singers. She is the orchestrator for The Carlisle Project by Ronee Penoi and Annalisa Dias and works as music copyist for Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate. Her music has been performed throughout North America and Germany at notable venues such as Roulette Intermedium, Performance Space New York, The Green Room 42, and Shaking the Tree Theater.
Equally at home on the podium, Danielle is sought out for her execution of new and contemporary works.
Recent conducting engagements include Scalia/Ginsberg at Opera Ithaca, Tlingit Opera at Perseverance Theatre, Guest Conductor at Manhattan School of Music Symphony, Adam’s Run at Renegade Opera, Missing by Brian Current at Anchorage Opera, Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly at Temple University Opera Theater, National Music & Global Culture Society gala concert at Lincoln Center, Garden of Alice by Elizabeth Raum with City Lyric Opera (NYC), served as assistant conductor for Le nozze di Figaro at the Estates Theater (Prague, CZ), and conducted and arranged Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice for Renegade Opera (Portland, OR)
Past engagements include working with ensembles such as the Opera Theatre Saint Louis, Stanford Symphony Orchestra, Rhymes with Opera, Manhattan School of Music Orchestra, and Norwalk Youth Symphony.
A fierce advocate for equity in artistic spaces and enrolled citizen of the Oneida Nation/Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe, Danielle is especially passionate about Decolonization through collective creation and performance. She has presented her research in mixed-race studies and contemporary Indigenous music throughout the US and Canada.
Danielle began her musical studies in classical composition at Hamline University with Jannika Vandervelde, conducting studies at Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Jos Vermunt, with further studies at Manhattan School of Music. Her mentors also include Timothy Long, George Manahan, and Reiko Fueting.
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 (2024), Oregon Community Foundation (2024), The Plimpton Foundation (2022), Foundation for Contemporary Arts (2020), and Native Arts and Cultures (2020). 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.