Biography

A passionate communicator, Canadian conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. Daniel is an innovative creative visionary, who believes that the beauty of music can heal and unite all of us beyond differences.

Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser holds the positions of Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education at the San Francisco Symphony, the Barrett Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Daniel is also the Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia, conducting Ballet and Pops with national and international artists and designing diverse and relevant family and outreach shows for the Halifax community. He is the host of the weekly, national Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio show Centre Stage – with Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser.

Daniel has conducted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony in the US and the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, and Regina Symphony in Canada. He was a guest conductor with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Centre in 2020. Additionally, Daniel has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. In April 2022, Daniel made his debut with Carnegie Hall’s Link Up Orchestra, conducting the world premiere of “Ram Tori Maya” by Indian American composer, Reena Esmail and “We Shall Not Be Moved” arranged by American vocalist and composer, Nathalie Joachim.

Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser was featured in the 2019 CBC documentary Disruptor Conductor directed by Sharon Lewis. Along with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Thorgy Thor, the documentary follows Bartholomew-Poyser as he collaboratively creates the first orchestral drag queen show in Canada, titled Thorgy and the Thorchestra. The award-winning documentary focuses on Bartholomew-Poyser’s concerts for the Neurodiverse, Prison, African Diaspora and LGBTQ2S+ populations.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser is a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Jean-Marie Beaudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting. He has been awarded RBC Royal Bank Emerging Artist Grant and the Canada Council for the Arts Jean Baudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting. Daniel is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.