“What inspires me about playing modern music is that you start with an open puzzle, and then everything comes together. You start humming the tunes...”
Fast Facts
Member of the bass section for thirty-six seasons and now principal bass, Metropolitan Opera.
Member of American Symphony Orchestra and El Sistema-NYC and El Sistema-USA.
Recordings with Deutsche Grammophon and numerous other labels.
Jacqui Danilow, Double Bass
Photo Credit: Ken Yanagisawa
Jacqui Danilow, a native New Yorker, began performing at The Metropolitan Opera in 1979. While a member of the Met’s bass section, she played in more than 40 complete ring cycles, and performed in the Deutsche Grammophon recording of Wagner's ring cycle with Maestro Levine at the Manhattan Center Studios. In 1991, she was part of the first symphonic orchestra concert series that included Mahler's second symphony and Verdi's Requiem that led to the Carnegie Hall series that continues to this day.
Prior to joining the Met, Jacqui studied at both Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music, and performed in the New Jersey Symphony, the Opera Orchestra of New York, and the American Symphony (of which she is still a member).
Most of her career, Jacqui spent enlightening New York City educators, art institutions and even city and state government officials to the importance of classical music and opera. As a member of El Sistema-NYC and El Sistema-USA, she is spearheading a program that makes music a mandatory core subject in its public schools.
She has created many music/opera educational programs to entice young and old audiences to enjoy her art form.