Daniel Greene

Tag: music

  • The arts are in my blood

    Okay, maybe I’m bragging a little, but I would like to tell you something about my family and their involvement in the performing and visual arts.

    • My grandmother on my mother’s side was a singer who performed in vaudeville. She toured the Orpheum circuit as Linda Preston with comedian Gene Sheldon. If you have an Orpheum theatre in your town, chances are she performed there! She was also a member of SAG under the name Audrey Arent, and she did a Mitchum deodorant commercial and appeared as an extra in the movies King Kong (1976), Network, and The Turning Point.
    • My grandfather on my mother’s side was Johnny Drake of The Modernaires– yes, Glenn Miller’s Modernaires who appeared in The Glenn Miller Story.
    • My grandmother on my father’s side, Helene Greene, was an interior designer and an award-winning painter.
    • My grandfather on my father’s side, Ernest Greene, played trumpet and harmonica in jazz bands as a young man.
    • My mother, Jonni Greene, sang in musicals throughout high school and junior college. She has sung in choruses of one form or another since I was 10.
    • My father, Andrew Greene, took some painting a sculpting courses and supported a friend in teaching and promoting her art classes.

    I am grateful to my family for passing down their tradition of performing and visual arts, and for encouraging me in my artistic endeavors.

  • Singing Experiences

    • Started taking weekly singing lessons from mezzo soprano Dianna Ruggiero from July 2003, and I’ve been delighted with the results.
    • Sang as a member and soloist with the Shir Hadash Choir at Congregation Dor Hadash 1999–2000, 2003.
    • Sang for nine holiday seasons with Janet Hammer’s Full Measure Carolers from 1993–2003.
    • Recorded vocals for Voices of American History Volume II: American Revolution—The Journey Toward Independence, Creative Partners, 2002.
    • Sang at Piano Zinc in Paris, November 1, 1997.
    • Performed a solo cabaret concert at A Better Worlde Galleria, June 9, 1996.
    • Sang in choruses of San Diego Comic Opera’s productions of Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, 1993, 1994.
    • Sang with the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego, 1993.
    • Sang in choruses of SGI-USA (an international Buddhist world peace organization), 1978–1990.
    • Sang in several choruses at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), including Choral Ensemble, Concert Choir, and Mixed Chorus, 1978–1985 (Gail McKinney and Norm Boaz directing).
    • Performed several numbers as a soloist in An Evening with Jones & Schmidt at SCPA, 1985.
    • Performed in choruses of several musicals at SCPA, including The Music Man, Pippin, Bye-Bye, Birdie!, and Oklahoma!, 1978–1985.
    • Lisped enthusiastically through “Gary Indiana” as Winthrop Paroo in The Music Man at San Diego State University, 1981.
    • Brought the house down singing “Suppertime” as Snoopy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown! at San Diego Junior Theatre, 1980.
    • Recorded vocals for a children’s educational/recreational album, We All Live Together, Youngheart Records, 1979.
    • Sang “I Believe in Angels” in a children’s chorus with the rock group ABBA at the San Diego Sports Arena, 1979.
    • Created the role of Rocky in an original musical based on Morrie Turner’s comic strip Wee Pals at SCPA, 1978.
    • Made my musical theater debut as Jerome in The King and I, at Camp Saskatchewan, 1975.