Michelle Daniel

Piano / Voice

Michelle Daniel (Piano and Voice) is a Malaysian-born pianist and vocalist who has been performing on a variety of stages since age eight. Classically trained in traditional conservatories, she nevertheless discovered a love for jazz and eventually attended the University of Texas at Austin where she majored in jazz composition and piano performance. She has played with a broad spectrum of bands from Annapolis, Maryland, where she grew up, to Austin where she has lived for over a decade. As a result, her tastes are as diverse as her background, ranging from Rachmaninov to R&B, inclusive of almost everything in between. With the Tortilla Factory, where she was keyboardist, vocalist, and musical director, she received two Grammy nominations for best tejano album. As a composer, she sides towards a world music style with ambitious instrumentation choices. Her 19-piece big band, the Latin Impressions Jazz Orchestra, with Arturo Sandoval screaming trumpets and McCoy Tyner modal influences, was her pet project during her time at UT for which she composed and arranged fully original pieces. She has been teaching piano, composition, and voice to aspiring musicians of all ages and levels for more than fifteen years, both privately and in schools, and has developed a flexible, student-centric approach to music education, thriving on the challenge of tailoring lessons for an individual’s tastes and personal goals.