Filipino-American violinist Daniel Apolonio was born and raised in Southern California. He holds a B.M. in Violin Performance and a minor in Web Development from NYU where he studied with Giora Schmidt and Gregory Fulkerson, and is currently pursuing his M.M. In Violin Performance at CSULB under the tutelage of Moni Simeonov. Previous awards include first place in the Southern California Philharmonic concerto competition and the preliminary round of the ASTA-LA solo competition, second place in the New York University concerto competition, and third place in the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra concerto competition. He has performed in venues such as the James B. Duke House in Manhattan, Thayer Hall at Colburn, Harris Concert Hall in Aspen, and Gilles-Lefebvre Concert Hall in Québec, in addition to having collaborated with artists such as Nelson Padgett and Carlos Avila. As an orchestra musician, he has served as concertmaster of the NYU Orchestra and has been a member of many ensembles, allowing him to perform in venues such as the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Musco Center for the Arts, and Glinka Capella in Saint Petersburg. He has played in masterclasses for artists such as Nathan Cole, Timothy Chooi, Stefan Jackiw, and David Kim, in addition to chamber music masterclasses for Peter Marsh as well as the Kronos and Pacifica Quartets. Daniel attended the Orange County School of the Arts for all of middle and highschool, in addition to having attended the Aspen Music Festival and Festival Napa Valley in the summer. Previous teachers include Cyrus Beroukhim, Sam Fischer, and Connie Heard. Aside from violin, Daniel enjoys weightlifting, playing basketball, eating In-N-Out, and can solve a Rubik’s Cube in 8 seconds.