Glen McDaniel has enjoyed a multi-faceted career as a violinist of contrasting musical styles. As a classical violinist, he has been presented as a recitalist and chamber musician across the United States and Europe. He has been privileged to work with such renowned artists as Vadim Gluzman, John Kimura Parker, William Preucil, Philippe Quint, Kenneth Slowik, and Arnold Steinhardt, as well as the Ying and ENSO Quartets. Notably, Glen was honored to perform under the baton of the illustrious violinist and conductor, Itzhak Perlman, in a gala concert presented to benefit students of music in the city of Houston, TX. 

In the world of pop music, Glen has enjoyed an eclectic performance schedule as a touring violinist with the Grammy-nominated artist Janelle Monáe.  As a member of Ms. Monáe’s ArchOrchestra, Glen has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Miles Davis Hall at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Sydney Opera House. In December of 2011, he was privileged with the opportunity to join Ms. Monáe in Oslo, Norway for the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert, a performance honoring the year’s recipients of the award. You can also find Glen performing alongside Ms. Monáe and his bandmates in Ron Howard’s documentary Made in America, a film depicting events surrounding Jay-Z’s music festival of the same name.

Along with these endeavors, Glen is also a member of ALKALI, a multi-genre string ensemble that is devoted to bringing instrumental music back into the spotlight of mainstream music through performance as well as music education. With ALKALI, Glen has been able to serve as an educator and performer with KIPP Sharp schools, Houston Community College (Spring Branch), and the International School of Curacao. In 2013, ALKALI served a two-week residency on the island of Curacao, bringing classical music to thousands of students and residents throughout the area that left an indelible mark on both the listeners as well as the ensemble.

Glen began his violin studies in Dallas, Texas under the tutelage of Arkady Fomin. He went on to continue his education at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he was a student of Kenneth Goldsmith. Further studies continued at the University of Maryland under the guidance of David Salness, where he also studied chamber music with the Guarneri String Quartet.