Daniel Lau

1966 -

Daniel Lau, pianist, violinist, and music director, is presently an assistant professor at Washington Adventist University and on the faculty of the New England Music Camp.  He has performed throughout the U.S and Europe to great acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist.

Daniel was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, and spent his childhood in Loma Linda, California, the son of Benjamin and Esther Lau. His father is a physician and an Emeritus Professor of microbiology, immunology, and surgery at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine.

Upon graduating from Loma Linda Academy in 1984, Daniel attended Loma Linda University, where he served as concertmaster of the orchestra and first violinist of the LLU String Quartet.  He graduated with a B.Mus. in piano in 1988 with high honors and also won the coveted Dean's Award. 

He then attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he completed a master’s degree in 1990 and a D.M.A in 1998, both in piano performance. He was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda, national music honor society while at PCM. His major teachers have included Lillian Freundlich, Anita Norskov Olsen, Samuel Sanders, and Jerome Lowenthal.

Lau’s solo and chamber music performances have been praised by music critics. The Washington Post praised his "exemplary artistry;" the Baltimore Sun noted "Lau's beautifully shaded playing;" the Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, PA) lauded his "flair, great technical proficiency and expressiveness;" and La Liberté (Fribourg, Switzerland) cited his "playful nuances, translucent phrasing, and miraculous sonorities." He is a founding member of the Ravel Trio, which was praised recently by the Swiss Journal du Jura for its "splendid interpretation, vigorous and nuanced playing."

He collaborates frequently with singers internationally and is a sought-after chamber musician. He has performed a multimedia show, "Marian Anderson - A Legacy of Hope," with soprano Sabrina Coleman Clark for thousands of school children. 

Since 2006, Lau has released half a dozen recordings with a variety of artists, including a CD with award winning engineer Marc Arbort and a self-produced solo, CD "Transcendent Colors." He has a special interest in Asian American and African American composers and is committed to the performance of living composers. He has premiered many solo and chamber music works and can be heard on a number of recordings of works by contemporary living composers.

Lau has given master classes and clinics throughout the United States. He is Chair of the Maryland State Music Teachers Association Chamber Music Festival and Competition Coordinator for the American Liszt Society, and Liszt-Garrison International Piano Festival and Competition. He has taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of Music and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. 

As a conductor, Lau has served as Music Director for performances of Manon, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Merry Widow, and The Magic Flute, among others. He is also active as a church musician.

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Source: Biography at Washington Adventist University, 2013; additional information provided by Lau, 2014.