Daniel Velasco is an award-winning flutist whose “standout” and “vibrant” performances (Miami Herald) have taken him around the world. He is the first-prize winner of the National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition, WAMSO Minnesota Orchestra Competition, MTNA Young Artist Competition, Claude Monteux Flute Competition, second-prize winner of the William C. Byrd Competition, and finalist at the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh International Competition. A Yamaha performing artist, his first solo album, Flauta Andina, with Ellen Sommer (piano), was released in 2022 under the Naxos label. A second album, Fujin’s Dream: Works for Flute, Viola, and Harp, was released in 2025 under the PostHaus Acoustic label.
As a soloist, he has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador, Salina Symphony, and several student ensembles. He has been featured as a guest performer at recital series, flute clubs, and flute conventions across the United States. Internationally, he has been invited to perform at the Swedish Flute Association Convention, the Guadalajara-Mexico Vientos de Otoño Festival, the Festival Internacional de Flautistas en la Mitad del Mundo in Ecuador, the Milan Conservatory, the National University of Colombia, the Puerto Rico Conservatory, and the Instituto Cervantes in Paris, among others.
A founding member of the Miami-based NuDeco Ensemble, Velasco earned a doctoral degree from the University of Miami (Frost School of Music), and holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Northern Iowa. His main teachers include Angeleita Floyd, Marianne Gedigian, Amy Porter, and Trudy Kane. He served on the faculty at the University of Akron from 2016–2018 and is currently the Associate Professor of Flute at the University of Kansas and faculty in residence at the Bay View Music Festival in Michigan.