Full Biography

Daniel Musashi is a composer of Japanese and Syrian heritage whose work integrates elements of both cultures into a distinctive musical voice. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Royal College of Music, supported by the RCM Studentship, under the supervision of Professor Mark Bowden and Dr. Jonathan Cole.

His research explores the intersection of Japanese and Syrian traditions through choreomusical collaboration, developing a shared score that integrates Japanese calligraphy and Arabic script as a guiding framework for musicians, dancers, and visual artists. Influenced by Marko Ciciliani’s Music in the Expanded Field, his work examines how notation extends beyond conventional parameters, embracing movement, space, and visual art as integral to performance. By engaging with both traditional and experimental interdisciplinary approaches, his research aims to highlight these cultural traditions while addressing their underrepresentation in contemporary art.

Daniel was the first Orpheus Sinfonia Composer in Residence, with his commissioned work Marblesplash (2024) premiering at their Season Finale Concert in 2024. His compositions have been recognised internationally, winning First Prize at the Vienna Composition Lab 2024, Second Place in the County Hall Arts Symphony Concours 2023, and the Jury’s Award at the 28th TIAA Japanese National Composer’s Competition for 画竜点睛 Garyou-Tensei (2021). His piece Feathering in Blue (2022) was commissioned by the Utrecht Conservatorium String Orchestra as their featured work for their 2022 Annual Concert Showcase at TivoliVredenburg.

Daniel is deeply passionate about multidisciplinary collaborations that expand the role of music beyond the traditional concert hall. His installation piece, Melodic Blossoms (2024), was featured in his curated exhibit for Kew Gardens’ Sounds of Blossom Festival 2024, blending music with the surrounding cherry blossoms and tulips. He has also collaborated on choreomusical works, including Aquatic Fluxations (2024), created with the English National Ballet School and performed at the Wallace Collection, as well as ‘Round the Table (2024), a collaboration with the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance.

His multidisciplinary production, AMANARI 天鳴 (2023), was staged at the RCM’s Britten Theatre, collaborating with the Tokyo National Museum, London Contemporary Dance School, and Royal College of Art. Previously, he curated Behind the Sky (2021), a concert integrating project-mapped digital art, and participated in DRINK! (2021), a mid-pandemic operatic film created entirely via Zoom.

Daniel holds an MMus in Composition with Distinction from the Royal College of Music, where he studied under Dr. Ed Bennett, and a BMus (Hons) in Composition from HKU Utrecht Conservatorium, where he studied with Dr. Jeroen D’hoe and Caroline Ansink.

He has taken masterclasses with Colin Matthews, Malcolm Singer, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Dr. David Ludwig, and John Adams. He completed the Curtis Mentor Network program under Dr. Daniel Felsenfeld, and is published by Universal Edition.