Biography

Daly has been studying piano since the age of four, taking music very seriously from the start (seen right). Heralding from Syracuse, NY,  he grew up an avid performer, making his orchestral debut at age twelve. Known for his virtuosity from a young age, he garnered attention from his performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Syracuse’s Symphoria!:

“[He] took the fiery ‘Allegro con fuoco’ at breakneck speed, his fingers capering across the keys as music cascaded from the keys.”

(Linda Loomis, Syracuse.com)

Daly also won several competitions throughout his youth, including the New York State Heddy Kilian Competition, the CNYAMT Senior Scholarship and Senior Advanced Piano Competitions, and the Civic Morning Musicals Concerto Competition.

After graduating with honors from Ithaca College, earning his Bachelors Degree in piano performance under the teaching of Dmitri Novgorodsky, he matriculated to the Peabody Institute in the studio of Alexander Shtarkman, completing both a Master of Music degree and a Graduate Performance Diploma. In the Fall, he will begin his Doctorate of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Maryland.

In Ithaca, Daly began to teach piano lessons through the school’s pedagogy program. Through these lessons he discovered an unexpected passion in teaching. In addition to teaching lessons at Ithaca, upon his move to Maryland he regularly gave lessons at several music schools, most recently with the Patterson Park Academy of Music. He has maintained studios of up to 24 students a week, with students as young as 4 years old, as well as adults. He was also awarded two assistantships at UMD in both piano teaching and accompanying.

Apart form the piano, he spent ten years studying the violin, dabbled in vocal jazz throughout high school and college, and has recently taken an interest in orchestral conducting.

Outside of music, Daly enjoys reading and playing hockey, tennis, and golf.