Daniel Keeling
⌘
Daniel Keeling ⌘
BARITONE | PERFORMING ARTIST
EDUCATOR | CREATIVE
“Daniel is a fine musician who distinguishes himself as one who possesses solid vocal technique, which is both beautiful and expressive."
Philip Glass, composer
I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky. Il Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (Italy). Image by Olimpia Nigris Cosattini (2015)
Imagine by Paul Hüttemann (2023)
MY BIO
https://linktr.ee/DanielKeeling
Explore more by clicking on visuals and the highlighted text.
About Me
I am a versatile performing artist, educator, voice teacher, and creative with extensive experience in interpreting and teaching a wide range of vocal repertoire genres. From music theatre and classical to contemporary commercial music (CCM), I navigate and impart knowledge across these diverse styles. My performances in various sung-theatre and music genres have been featured on commercial recordings, television, radio, esteemed stages, festivals, venues, and concert halls worldwide, contributing to ongoing international recognition.
Lately, I have further diversified my creative experiences with stage directing. This, along with reflection on my broader creative journey, has fueled a new mission: advocating self-sustainability through the process of creative adaptability.
Current Academic Role
Currently, I am an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Drama Department at the University of California, Irvine. Housed within the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, I specialize in voice instruction, pedagogy, and curriculum development for the Music Theatre Program.
Recent Creative Work
In March 2025, I performed as a baritone soloist in the UC Irvine Chorale concert, performing “Finding Light: Alzheimer’s Stories” by Robert S. Cohen, conducted by Dr. Irene Messoloras. Presented by UCI Music and UCI MIND (a research center of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior in the School of Biological Sciences), this concert brought awareness to Alzheimer’s disease.
A Q&A Session on Finding Light: Alzheimer’s Stories. UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts, Irvine, CA. 4 March 2025 (News Site Link)
Also recently, as a stage director, I have directed works that address social themes of marginalization. Centering LGBTQ+ issues, I co-directed the musical The Prom as a mainstage production of UCI Drama in spring 2024. Ancestry, a new play by Zachary Price, engages themes of racial generational trauma and guilt, and was presented as part of the inaugural International Theater of Community Festival (ToC) in February 2025 at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts’ (CTSA) xMPL Theater.
Ancestry by Zachary Price. The International Theater of Community Festival, Irvine, California. Image by Evelina Pentcheva (2025)
Backing Vocalist in German-speaking Europe
I have provided backing vocals for the prominent German pop artist Sarah Connor since 2019, performing in over 100 live shows — including three major arena tours and two summer/open-air tours — which have drawn tens of thousands of audience members across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Waldbühne open-air concert. 22,000 audience members. Berlin, Germany. Opening solo of “Proud Mary.” Summer 2023 (with vocalist-guitarist, Torsten Goods)
During the 2022 holiday season, I promoted Connor’s Christmas album Not So Silent Night through appearances on German TV talk shows, live radio broadcasts (in Germany and Switzerland), TikTok, and a live show production at Berlin’s Verti Music Hall. This Berlin show, which ran for four nights, was recorded and filmed, and has become a recurring TV Christmas special, broadcast throughout German-speaking Europe every holiday season since 2022.
The Not So Silent Night album was reissued in 2023 as The Cozy Edition, which includes the live broadcast Verti concert on DVD/Blu-ray and additional live tracks on CD. I also participated in her 2019 Herz Kraft Werke Live album (DVD/Blu-ray/CD), as well as other televised specials and concerts, and I appear in Connor’s music video “Ring Out the Bells,” which has 1.4 million views to date.
Imagine by Paul Hüttemann (2023)
Not So Silent Night Arena Tour. Lanxess Arena. Cologne, Germany. (2023)
A Musical Milestone
A significant career highlight and privilege was working with composer Philip Glass and poet-songwriter Leonard Cohen on their joint project, Book of Longing (BOL). Based on the poetry and artwork of Leonard Cohen, we commercially recorded and toured this captivating, multimedia song cycle worldwide. BOL performances garnered international critical acclaim — with Glass touring and performing with us, Cohen providing recorded spoken word, and Michael Riesman as music director.
Book of Longing (Philip Glass on Keyboard). The Luminato Festival, Toronto, Canada. Image by Cylla von Tiedemann (2007)
A Commitment to Modern and Contemporary Classical Music
This artistic milestone is indicative of my longstanding history of interpreting modern and contemporary classical works, well before it was in vogue for classical artists to embrace such repertoire.
In 1996–1997, during my graduate training at CCM (University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music), I was fortunate to coach with renowned composer and conductor Professor Emeritus Gerhard Samuel, who warmly affirmed my aptitude for 21st-century classical music. That early foundation and affirmation of my musicianship and artistic voice fortified my abilities and paved the way to a series of significant opportunities in modern repertoire.
My portrayals of a slave in David Lang’s The Difficulty of Crossing a Field and of Tiresias in Harry Partch’s Oedipus Rex — both presented at Peak Performances@Montclair State University — quickly led to my work with Philip. Additionally, leading up to BOL (Book of Longing), I was engaged with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra in New Zealand, where I sang as bass soloist in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14. By 2015, I was honored to receive a direct invitation from Il Teatro dell’Opera di Roma to portray Dewain in John Adams’ I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, which was stage directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti and conducted by Alexander Briger.
Another international credit in modern repertoire is my portrayal of Crown in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess at the prestigious Sächsische Staatsoper “Semperoper” (Dresden, Germany), Komische Oper (Berlin, Germany), Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf, Germany), and Theater 11 (Zürich, Switzerland) with New York Harlem Theatre.
Other works by esteemed modern and contemporary classical figures that I have interpreted include those of Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, Kurt Weill, and others, reflecting my deep understanding of, and commitment to, championing modern and contemporary classical repertoire.
Opera & Musical Theatre
Standard opera roles include Figaro in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata, La Voce in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Oroveso in Bellini’s Norma, and Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen. Musical theatre credits include Joe/ensemble in On the Town, Benjamin in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fred in Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and swing/ensemble of the 1st and 2nd National Tours of the 1994 Broadway revival of Show Boat — directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Susan Stroman.
Other Crossover & Commercial Projects
My crossover solo work includes singing with Germany’s Bielefelder Philharmoniker in its presentations of The Motown Soul Symphony and The Michael Jackson Symphony Experience, as well as performing in Robert Beitsch’s SoulDance at Berlin’s Admiralspalast. I held two residencies at A-Trane Jazz Club Berlin, commercially recorded the My Motown Soul album with JC Dook’s All-Stars, and fronted The Deja Nova Trio in Germany, crafting 20 original songs.
Admiralspalast, Berlin, Germany. (2020)
Major Venues & Festivals (Some of)
The many venues and festivals across Europe, North America, and Australasia in which I have performed include Olympiahalle München (Munich, Germany), Mercedes-Benz Arena Berlin (now the Uber Arena), Hallenstadion Zürich (Switzerland), Wiener Stadthalle Wien (Vienna, Austria), Barclaycard Arena Hamburg (Germany), Staatsoper Hamburg (Germany), Béla Bartók National Concert Hall (Budapest, Hungary), Baden Baden Festspielhaus (Baden Baden, Germany), Barockgarten am Festspielhaus Füssen (Füssen, Germany), Theater im Delphi (Berlin, Germany), Waldbühne Berlin (Germany), Madrid Autumn Festival (Spain), Claustro del Museo Argueológico de Asturias (Oviedo, Spain), Olympic Badminton Theatre (Athens, Greece), Melbourne International Arts Festival (Australia), Koninklijk Theater Carre (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Torino/Milano Musicale Festival Internazionale della Musica (Italy), Luminato Festival (Toronto), Wales Millennium Centre (United Kingdom), National Theater Concert Hall of Taiwan (Taipei), New Zealand International Arts Festival (Wellington NZ), Auckland Town Hall (Auckland, New Zealand), Festival Internazionale di Villa Adriana (Tivoli, Italy), Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco, California), Spoleto USA (Charleston, South Carolina), Ravinia Festival (Chicago), Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater (New York City), the Barbican Centre (London), Kennedy Center Opera House (Washington, D.C.) and the Sydney Opera House (Australia), among many others.
Education & Training
For me, teaching has always been a part of my vocational trajectory, alongside performing. Beginning as a Special Music Education major, I earned a BM from Wichita State University (cum laude). I went on to complete my MM at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where I also pursued an MFA in Drama–Musical Theatre emphasis, a distinguished but short-lived program.
My voice teachers over the years include Dr. Lavinia Chereches, Gundula Hintz, Randy Mickelson, Dr. George Gibson, and Barbara Reed-Honn.
Prior Teaching Background
Before joining UC Irvine, I maintained a vocal studio comprising 25 private vocal students throughout Germany. I also taught music as a subject at several primary and secondary schools (elementary, middle, and high school levels) in Berlin.
A Personal Note
I’m a proud native of Kansas, with the heart of a New Yorker and a European sensibility.
Photo by David Beecroft
Highlights, News, and TimELine
2025
Baritone soloist, Finding Light: Alzheimer’s Stories, a choral and chamber orchestral piece by Robert S. Cohen — March 2025
UC Irvine Chorale ConcerT | Musical Direction by Dr. Irene Messoloras (conDuctor) | Presented by UCI Music and UCI Mind (A Research Center In the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior At the School of Biological Sciences) | UC IRvine | Irvine Barclay Theatre | Irvine, Ca USA
Director, Ancestry, a new play by Zachary Price — February 2025
Four performances As part of the inaugural Theater of Community Festival (ToC) | Zachary Price, co Founder and Co-Director | Bryan Reynolds, Co-Director | xMPL Theatre | Irvine, Ca USA
2024
Co-Director, The Prom, a musical by Sklar, Beguelin, and Martin — June 2024
a main Stage production of the Department of Drama | Don Hill, co-Director | Choreography by Nikki Snelson | Claire Trevor School of the Arts | Claire Trevor Theatre | UC IRvine | Irvine, Ca USA
2023
Background vocalist, Sarah Connor Not So Silent Night Tour, 13 Stops, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria — December 2023
Kongresshaus Biel CH | Halle Westfalen OWL Arena DE | Messe Erfurt | Mercedes-Benz Arena Berlin DE (now Uber Arena) | ÖVB-Arena BremenDE | Barclaycard Arena HamburgDE| TUI Arena Hannover DE | LANXESS Arena Köln DE | König-Pilsener-Arena Oberhausen DE | Porsche Arena Stuttgart DE | Olympiahalle MünchenDE | Wiener Stadthalle Wien OE | SAP Arena Mannheim DE
Background vocalist, Sarah Connor—SOMMER OPEN AIR ’23 Tour, 18 Stops. Germany — Summer 2023
Pfungstadt | Büsum | Mönchengladbach | St. Goarshausen (Loreley) | Kassel | Meersburg, Regensburg | Bietigheim-Bissingen | Kempten | Weeze | Cloppenburg | Neubrandenburg | Wolfsburg | Sylt | Bochum | Berlin (Waldbühne) | Hochenheim | Heidenheiman der Brenz
2022
Background vocalist, Sarah Connor Not So Silent Night: Live (Christmas) Shows, TV & Radio Concerts and Promotions, TikTok Special, and Music Video. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — November and December 2022
“Ring Out The Bells” official music video (Nov 4) | ”3nach9” (TV talkshow), Bremen | Christmas show at the Verti Music Hall(Four showS and recorded Live), Berlin | Obertauern OE | TikTok Live Christmas concerT | Sat1’s breakfast show, Berlin | Radio NRW Christmas concert, Velbert DE | NDR Talkshow “XXL,” Hamburg | Radio Christmas concert, Luzern CH | Broadcast of “Sarah Connor—NOT SO SILENT NIGHT Live TV Christmas Concert,” German, Austria, and Switzerland
Background vocalist, Sarah Connor Open-Air-Konzert — HERZ KRAFT WERKE Summer Tour 2022 — Spring 2022
Müllrose DE | Bad Segeberg DE | Graz At | Landsweiler DE | Schiffweiler DE | Open Air Sparkassen Park Mönchengladbach DE | Rhein-Main Congress Center Wiesbaden DE | Bibera DE | Ulm/Wiblingen DE | Rostock DE | Meppen DE | Magdeburg DE | Telekom Bonn DE | LEIPZIG DE | GoslaR DE | Schloss Herrenhausen Hannover DE | Butzbach DE | Dortmund DE | open air Wien AT | Fulda DE | Vechta DE | volkspark Mainz DE | Tüßling DE | Waldbühne Berlin DE | Salem DE | barockgarten am Festspielhaus Füssen DE | Schwetzingen DE | Braunschweig DE | Apolda DE | Willingen DE | Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg DE | Bonn DE | Essen DE | Halle Westfalen OWL Arena DE | Bruchsal DE | Bremerhaven DE | Hemer DE | Schlossplatz Coburg DE | open air Dresden DE | Beverungen DE | Finsterwalde DE
Background vocalist, Sarah Connor — HERZ KRAFT WERKE Spring Tour 2022
Wunderino Arena Kiel DE | ÖVB-Arena Bremen DE | ZAG Arena Hannover DE | König-Pilsener-Arena Oberhausen DE | Immobilien ARENA Leipzig DE | Mercedes-Benz Arena Berlin DE | IGA Parkbühne Wien OE | Westfalenhalle Dortmund DE | Olympiahalle München DE | LANXESS Arena Köln DE | Barclaycard Arena Hamburg DE
2021
Soloist with the Bielefelder Philharmoniker in a co-presentation of THE MOTOWN SOUL SYMPHONY and THE MICHAEL JACKSON EXPERIENCE — September 2021
Bielefelder PhilHarmoniker | Anne Hinrichsen, Conductor | Strandkorb Open Air 2021 | Bielefeld DE
Feature Singer, SOULDANCE — September 2021
PRODUCTION and DirectIon Robert Beitsch | ADmiralspalast | Berlin DE
2020
Baritone Soloist in “I, TOO, SING AMERICA" - LEONARD BERNSTEIN'S "SONGFEST" IN BERLIN — September 2020
Production and Musical DIRECTION by GARRETT KEAST (conductor) | Theater im Delphi | Berlin DE
https://www.garrettkeast.com/news-ideas-input/2020/8/31/leonard-bernsteins-songfest-performed-in-berlin) |
2019
ProSieben IN CONCERT: Sarah Connor. The concert was televised on Thursday, the 12th of December, 2019 on Germany’s TV channel ProSieben from 11:35 pm - 12:35 am
ProSieben Production | Filmed At BLACK BOX Music | Berlin DE
Background vocalist (with Ingrid Arthur’s GVOA) for German pop vocalist Sarah Connor on her HERZ KRAFT WERKE Fall Tour 2019 and HERZ KRAFT WERKE LIVE as Album, DVD, and Blu-ray| Tour dates: 25.10 — 12.11.2019, and 1. 2. & 3.12.2019.
Messenhalle Erfurt DE | Mercedes-Benz Arena Berlin DE | ÖVB Arena Bremen DE | Barclaycard Arena Hamburg DE | TUI Arena Hannover DE | König Pilsener Arena Oberhausen DE | LANXESS Arena Köln DE | Porsche-Arena Stuttgart DE | SAP Arena Süd Mannheim DE | Hallenstadion Zürich CH | ARENA LEIPZIG DE | Olympiahalle München DE | Festhalle Frankfurt DE | Wiener Stadthalle OE
Background vocalist, opening performance for the 71st BAMBI AWARDS 2019 with Sarah Connor, recipient of the Bambi German (National) Music Award of 2019 — November 2019
71st Bambi Awards show | Festspielhaus Baden-Baden| Baden-Baden DE
2018
Feature Singer, SOULDANCE — September 2012
PRODUCTION and DirectIon Robert Beitsch | ADmiralspalast | Berlin DE
2017-2015
Featured singer, MY MOTOWN SOUL — a residency at Berlin’s A-Trane Jazz Club and Album recording (2018). (Available on all Music Streaming and Purchasing Platforms).
JC DOOK, MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER | Germania Music gmbh, PRODUCER | Berlin De | https://my-motown-soul.de
Featured singer, A SOULFUL BEATLES — a residency at Berlin’s A-Trane Jazz Club
JC DOOK, MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER | Germania Music gmbh, PRODUCER | Berlin De | https://my-motown-soul.de
2015
Dewain (role), I was Looking at the Ceiling, but I saw the Sky, by John Adams, Il Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Debut — September 2015
LIbretto BY June Jordan | MUSIC BY John Adams | Stage direction by giorgio Barberio Corsetti |Conducted By Alexander Briger | IL TEATRO DELL’ OPERA DI ROMA | Roma It
https://www.operaroma.it/en/shows/opera-i-was-looking-eng-2015/
2010
Germont père, in LA TRAVIATA.
Musical DIRECTION by Joseph Rescigno (conductor) | Montefeltro Festival | Montefeltro IT
2010 - 2008
Crown, Porgy and Bess, New York Harlem European Tour and Production
ProduCtion and Musical Direction by William Barkhymer (conductor) | New York Harlem TheatRe | Komische Oper (Berlin DE) | Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf DE) | Sächsischen Staatsoper (Dresden DE) | Theater 11 (Zürich CH)
2009 - 2007
Baritone soloist, Book of Longing, International Tour, composer Philip Glass, poet/songwriter Leonard Cohen
Sydney Opera House (sYdney AusTralia)| Barbican Centre (London) | Rose Theater at Lincoln Center(NYC) | Ravinia Festival (Chicago) | Luminato Festival (Toronto) | Noord Nederlands Orkest De Ooterpoort (Groningen NL) | National Theater Concert Hall of Taiwan (Taipei) | Wales Millennium Centre (UK) | Spoleto Festival USA (Charleston SC USA)| Béla Bartók National Concert Hall (Budapest) | New Zealand International Arts Festival (Wellington NZ) | Festival Internazionale di Villa Adriana (Tivoli IT) | Scripps Performing Arts Center in Claremont (California USA) | Torino/Milano Musicale Festival Internazionale Della Musica (Torino and Milano It) | the University of Texas Performing Arts Center (Austin, TX USA) | Adelaide Festival of Arts (Australia) | Melbourne International Arts Festival (Australia) | Stanford Lively Arts (California USA) | Madrid Autumn Festival (ES) | Olympic Badminton Theatre (Athens GR)
POETRY by Leonard Cohen | Music by Philip Glass | Music Direction by Michael Reisman | stage direction by Susan Marshall | PRODUCTION BY POMEGRANATE ARTS | Recorded under Orange mountain music (in 2007) | available on alL Music streaming and purchasing Platforms.
https://www.pomegranatearts.com/project/book-of-longing/
2006 - 2005
A Ghost Slave (role), The Dificulty of Crossing a Field by David Lang, Peak Performances at Montclair (New Jersey US) in association with Ridge Theater (New York City) — 2006
Stage direction By Bob Mcgarth | MUSICAL direction By alan Johnson | PEAK PERFORMANCES & Ridge Theater Production | Alexander Kasser theater | MONTCLAIR NJ (USA)
Tiresias (role), Oedipus Rex by Harry Partch, Peak Performances at Montclair (New Jersey US) in association with Ridge Theater (New York City) — 2005
Stage direction By Bob Mcgarth | musical direction by Dean Drummond | PEAK PERFORMANCES & Ridge Theater Production | Alexander Kasser theater | MONTCLAIR NJ (USA)
https://www.peakperfs.org/kasser-theater-shows/ (Both Productions)
https://ridgetheater.org/PastWork.html (Both Productions)
2005 - 2004
Bass soloist, Shostakovich Symphony No. 14 — 2005
Musical Direction by Peter Scholes (conductor) | Auckland Chamber Orchestra | Concert Chamber of Auckland Town Hall | Auckland Nz
The Voice of the Oracle of Neptune (role), Idomeneo (Mozart), Auckland Opera Studio — 2004
Musical Direction by Peter Scholes (conductor) | Auckland Chamber Orchestra | Concert Chamber of Auckland Town Hall | Auckland Nz
2002
Fred (role), Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Leiber and Stoller), TheatreWorks in Silicon Valley
MUSICAL DIRECTION AND CHOREOGRAPHY BY Linda Goodrich | TheatreWorks Silicon Valley | Palo alto CA USa
https://theatreworks.org/about-us/production-history/
1998
Swing/Ensemble Member, Show Boat (Hammerstein and Kern), 1st and 2nd National Tours of the 1994 Broadway revival
Produced by Livent, Inc. | Directed by Harold Prince | Livent Associate Resident Director: Niki Harris | Choreographed by Susan Stroman | USA And Canada
https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/show-boat-4269
Reviews
Book of Longing (Glass)
“…Daniel Keeling’s bass-baritone singing was majestic”.
– Philip Clark ,Gramophone, June 5, 2007.
“Keeling was jazzily sexy, especially when he got to roll around in the bottom of his range.”
— Joanne Sydney Lessner, Opera News Online, July 2007.
“Daniel Keeling provided electrifying resonance, especially in his lowest register…”
– Joshua Rosenblum, The Post and Courier/Charleston,June 8, 2007
“I always thought of Broadway when bass-baritone Daniel Keeling was at the microphone…”
— Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2007
“[Daniel] Keeling’s elegant and understated stage presence anchored much of the concert visually, especially when all four singers were moving around onstage at the same time.”
— BK Drinwater, Salient (Wellington, NZ), March 17, 2008
The Tender Land (Copland)
“…[Grandpa Moss was] tough, old-fashioned and protective…”
– Vivien Schweitzer, The New York Times, January 23, 2007.
Oedipus (Harry Partch)
“Daniel Keeling made Tiresias a mad preacher, with a bit of Ray Charles thrown in.”
— Alex Ross, The New Yorker, April 18, 2005
Idomeneo (Mozart)
“The climax for many was the appearance of Zeus (La Voce), as memorable for the Wagnerian premonitions of Mozart’s bass writing as it was for Daniel Keeling’s resonant pronouncements”.
– William Dart, The New Zealand Herald, August 4, 2004
I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw. Il Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (Italy) Image by Olimpia Nigris Cosattini (2015)