An older white man with white hair. He is standing in front of an old brick building and wears a black jacket.

Steven Dann
viola

Born in Burnaby B.C., Steven Dann first became interested in the violin before switching to the viola in his late teens. Upon graduation from the University of Toronto, he was named principal viola of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, a position he also held with the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Vancouver Symphony and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Dann has appeared as guest principal violist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa and, regularly, with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. His work as a soloist has taken him across Canada and around the world. Since 1990 Mr. Dann has been a member of the Smithsonian Chamber Players in Washington D.C. and was a founding member of the Axelrod String Quartet. He is also violist of both the wonderfully eclectic Zebra Trio (with violinist Ernst Kovacic and cellist Anssi Karttunen) and Toronto's multi-Grammy-nominated ARC Ensemble. Mr. Dann is an associate professor at the University of Toronto and is on the faculty of the Glenn Gould Professional School at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Steven is the coordinator of chamber music programs at the Domaine Forget in Québec and the Music by the Sea Festival in British Columbia. With his colleagues in the Zebra Trio, a contemporary music seminar entitled Creative Dialogue France, involving young and established composers and performers, happens each August in the Loire Valley, France.

For Peggy Baker Dance Projects: Steven played in the chamber ensemble that performed Dick Connette’s score to Home live in 2003.