Concertmaster for MSO plays Bach concerto

The Modesto Symphony Orchestra is showcasing one of its own.

Concertmaster and first violinist Dan Flanagan will be the featured soloist at the upcoming shows next weekend at the Gallo Center for the Arts. Modesto Symphony Orchestra Music Director David Lockington will conduct.

The 36-year-old violinist has been with the Modesto orchestra for nine years, the past five as concertmaster. He has many responsibilities in that role, including leading and setting the tone for the strings section. Flanagan is also concertmaster for the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, and teaches violin at the University of California campuses in Davis and Berkeley.

The Modesto concert will highlight the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. Flanagan will perform Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor. The piece is the first of four violin concertos by Bach.

“It’s a lot of fun. It’s beautifully simple,” Flanagan said. “It’s never stagnant or has a dull moment. And it’s immediately likable to all audience members. Some music is an acquired taste; this Bach concerto is not. It’s the type of thing people like right away.”

Violin was something Flanagan liked right away, or as long as he can remember. The New Jersey native began playing when he was 4. At age 10, he told his parents he wanted to play the instrument professionally.

“I thought playing in an orchestra was the greatest thing possible,” he said.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a master’s degree from the University of Oregon, he moved to California 10 years ago. In 2008, he founded the Sacramento School of Music, where he is director and instructor of violin. Over the years, he also has performed as concertmaster for the Oakland East Bay Symphony, the California Symphony, California Musical Theater, the Festival Opera of Walnut Creek and Symphony Silicon Valley.

Flanagan said performing with the Modesto orchestra feels like family.

“Everybody is very, very supportive. I enjoy my colleagues quite a bit,” he said. “We’re all inspired by the music director (Lockington), which is not always the case in other orchestras. I think we feel very supported by the community, which is also not always the case in other communities. And we love our concert hall – the Gallo Center is fabulous. And that’s also not always the case in other communities.”

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Concertmaster for MSO plays Bach concerto."