Dan Totan

An active soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer, Mr. Dan Totan has performed on four continents in a variety of venues and ensembles featuring a diverse repertory ranging from the Baroque to contemporary music and various styles from "classical" to pop, rock, jazz, and more.

Born into a family of musicians in Bucharest, Romania, Mr. Totan began studying the cello with his father at the age of eight. He won many prizes including II and I prize of the Romanian Republican Interpretation Competition in 1992 and 1993, the National Radio Chamber-Orchestra Concerto Competition (Romania), the Classical Concerto Competition at McGill University, and the CBC Young Artists Series (Canada), the concerto competitions at the University of Music in Bucharest, McGill University, and University of Alabama, as well as the Cello Fellowship Competition in Montgomery Alabama.

He studied at the University of Music in Bucharest with Tiberiu Ungureanu, Principal cellist of the Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest and at the same time at Universitet der Künste in Berlin, with Ilea Catalin, Principal cellist of the Hungarica Orchestra.

From 1998 to 2002 he held the Assistant-Principal Cello position with the Sinfonia Cultura - Radio and Television Orchestra in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In 2002 he relocated to Canada where he graduated the Artist Diploma Program at McGill University with Antonio Lysy (2004), a Master's Degree at the same university with Matt Haimovitz (2006), and the Diplôme d'Études Supérieures Spécialisées with Yuli Turovsky at University of Montreal (2007).

From 2008 to 2010 Mr. Totan held the Cello Fellow and Principal Cello position with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra in Alabama, for which he performed in a series of eight solo concerts and recitals. He appeared as soloist with the Ho Chi Minh Symphony Orchestra, Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Romanian Broadcasting, the "Sinfonia Bucuresti" Orchestra, the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, Mihail Jora Philharmonic, Ion Dima Philharmonic, Botoşani Philharmonic, and others. He collaborated in various chamber ensembles in Romania, Germany, Brazil, Vietnam, Canada, and the United States. 

Presently Mr. Totan is pursuing a Doctorate in Musical Arts at the University of North Texas under Prof. Eugene Osadchy. At UNT he is a member of the Conductor's String Quartet, he specializes in baroque cello as well, early music being his special interest and also his degree minor. He is Principal Cello of the Irving Symphony Orchestra, a member of the Plano and San Angelo Symphonies and teaches as Adjunct Cello Professor at the Southwestern Adventist University.