Young Australian conductor, Daniel Smith is fast becoming one of the world’s most exhilarating musicians, filling concert halls around the globe. Winner of the First Prize, Golden Baton, Orchestra’s Choice, PWM and Orpheus Prizes in the Fitelberg International Conducting Competition (Poland, 2012), he also won Second Prize in the prestigious Sir Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition (Frankfurt, 2012), First Prize in the 5th Luigi Mancinelli Opera Conductors’ International Competition (Italy, 2012), and the Orchestra’s Choice Prize for Best Conductor in the Lutoslawski International Conducting Competition (Poland, 2011). Daniel’s commitment, energy and connection, with both musicians and audiences, has him hailed as “one of the greatest young conducting promises” by the Göteborgs Symfoniker at his concert debut in 2010. In 2011/2012 Daniel made his conducting debut with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, taking the podium for three different programs including the Festival Antibes Génération Virtuoses, and the cornerstone New Year’s Eve concert at the Acropolis, before a capacity audience of 2,500 people: “from beginning to end [Daniel Smith] impressed all and has been imprinted on the minds of everyone... an outburst of enthusiasm and excitement among audience and orchestra for his inexhaustible and exceedingly beautiful performance” (Nice Matin, 2012). Similar acclaim followed Smith's performance with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (Canada). His interpretation of Smetana’s Ma Vlast was described as “unfettered and exhilarating... The performance ended with cheers of enthusiasm and a prolonged standing ovation”. Sharing his time between Rome and Sydney, Smith has also conducted the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt hr-Sinfonieorchester, Göteborgs Symfoniker, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano “G. Verdi”, the National Orchestra of Romania and the Orchestra of Sofia. He has conducted at festivals including the Mozarteum Festspiele, Järvi Summer Festival, Estate Musicale Chigiana, Aspen Music Festival and the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival. Equally successful in the opera theatre, Smith recently worked as assistant conductor at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma on Il barbiere di Siviglia, Così fan tutte, Der Rosenkavalier, Fanciulla del West (with Giancarlo del Monaco), La traviata and Tosca (with Franco Zeffirelli) and Wozzeck. Smith has also conducted performances of Cavalleria rusticana, La traviata, Così fan tutte, Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica at L’Accademia and L’Estate Musicale Chigiana, Der fliegende Holländer at Opéra Monte Carlo, and La Rondine at the Sydney Opera House. Upcoming engagements will see him conducting again the Frankfurt hr-Sinfonieorchester, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, making his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della Toscana and at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro (Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims). Daniel Smith has been involved in music since first learning the flute at age six. He studied conducting with Jorma Panula, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi in Estonia, Gianluigi Gelmetti at the Sydney Symphony, Robert Spano and Hugh Wolff in Aspen and Peter Gülke at the Salzburg Mozarteum. He holds a Master of Music degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (Imre Pallo and Harry Spence Lyth) and Fellowships in Music from Trinity College London and the American Academy of Conducting (Aspen).