Meet the New DSO Musicians

Five musicians join the DSO for the 2023/24 season – Get to know our newest members!

Daniel Hawkins

Daniel Hawkins will join the ensemble as Principal Horn (Howard E. Rachofsky Chair). Since 2017, Hawkins held the position of Utility Horn with the San Francisco Symphony, and, in the 2019/20 Season, held the position of Associate Principal Horn with the SFS. Prior to this appointment, Hawkins served with the San Antonio Symphony, Houston Symphony, Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, Meadows Symphony Orchestra and Southern Arkansas Symphony. Daniel Hawkins won First Place in the International Horn Competition of America in 2022, was the award winner of the Music Teacher’s National Association Young Artist Competition in 2014 and won the Meadows School of the Arts Undergraduate and General Concerto Competition in 2012 and 2015.

Full Bio

MEET DANIEL

Hometown: Chandler, Texas
Where did you study? Stephen F. Austin State University, Southern Methodist University and Rice University
Favorite Piece: It’s difficult to pick one, but I will have to say Mahler’s Sixth Symphony
Favorite Movie: Also hard to pick but I love the entire Harry Potter series
Favorite Food: A good, handmade plate of spaghetti and homemade Bolognese sauce
Favorite Place to Travel: Germany, Italy, Paris…. or anywhere with a beach
Why did you choose your instrument? The SOUND of the Horn! I became obsessed with the instrument after I heard a performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony, and I knew from that moment on this is why I have chosen to play the Horn.
What are you looking forward to playing this season? I am really looking forward to playing Der Rosenkavalier Suite, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, Also Sprach Zarathustra and Wagner’s Anillo Cycle, plus SO many others!
What are you looking forward to about living in Dallas? I am really looking forward to coming back to Dallas now as a professional musician and seeing how the city is growing for the better. There are so many things that I look forward to that I can’t list just one of them. I am so indebted to the city of Dallas and to the DSO for helping me cultivate a life as a professional horn player. I used to listen to the DSO every week in college during my time at SMU, and the orchestra has stayed in my heart ever since. I am so looking forward to being their new Principal Horn.

Sarah Sung

Sarah Sung will join the DSO as Associate Principal Viola (Third Chair). Australian-Korean violist Sarah Sung is the First Prize winner of the 2023 Musicians Club of Women Competition in Chicago. Together with Timothy Chooi and Drake Driscoll, Sarah is a cofounder of VISION Collective — an initiative that builds meaningful relationships with and among refugees by sharing and exchanging music between diverse communities. In recognition of their work, the VISION Collective received the $20,000 McGraw Family Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach in 2020.

Full Bio

MEET SARAH

Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Where did you study? The Juilliard School
Favorite piece: Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht
Favorite Movie: The Beauty Inside
Favorite Food: Korean food
Favorite Place to Travel: Korea
Why did you choose your instrument? It’s the closest sound to my voice
What are you looking forward to playing this season? Mahler’s Fifth Symphony
What are you looking forward to about living in Dallas? The art museums!

Robert O’Brien

Robert O’Brien joined the DSO in January 2023 as Assistant Principal Timpani/Section Percussion. Before coming to Dallas, O’Brien was the Principal Percussionist of the Omaha Symphony for four seasons and spent one season as a member of the Houston Ballet Orchestra. He has been a Global Academy Fellow with the New York Philharmonic and has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony and the Hawaii Symphony. His summer engagements have included fellowships at the National Repertory Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center.

Full Bio

MEET ROBERT

Hometown: Fairfield, Connecticut
Where did you study? Boston University, New England Conservatory, Rice University
Favorite piece: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony
Favorite Movie: Apollo 13
Favorite Food? Roast Chicken
Favorite Place to Travel? New York City
Why did you choose your instrument? I knew my dad had played drums in middle school, so I signed up for percussion in fifth grade band. I got lucky because most students signed up for percussion, and I was one of the three that got chosen to do it.
What are you looking forward to playing this season? Prokofiev Symphony No. 5. Prokofiev’s percussion writing, and this piece in particular, is excellent.
What do you like about living in Dallas? A great arts scene and great food. I know it sounds crazy, but I also love the oppressive heat.

Jimin Lim

Jimin Lim joins the DSO in the Second Violin section this season. Lim has been a member of the Nashville Symphony since 2017, and she held the position of Acting Associate Principal Second Violin thispast season. Lim was also a part of the Nashville Symphony’s chamber music series. As winner of the Korean National University of Arts Concerto Competition, Lim performed with the KNUA Symphony. She has also soloed with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Busan Symphony Orchestra, Moldova National Symphony Orchestra and the Conductors Orchestra at Indiana University.

Full Bio

MEET JIMIN

Hometown: Busan, South Korea
Where did you study? Korea National University of Arts, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Favorite piece: Mendelssohn El sueño de una noche de verano Scherzo
Favorite Movie: Harry Potter
Favorite Food: Any noodle dish
Favorite Place to Travel: Anywhere I go with my Husband Alex and our dog Holden
Why did you choose your instrument? Both of my Parents are Violinists and it naturally happened!
What are you looking forward to playing this season? Everything! But if I must choose one, La Valse – one of my favorite pieces!
What are you looking forward to about living in Dallas? Exploring amazing food and sports scenes but mostly, working with DSO musicians!

Caleb Quillen

The DSO also welcomes Caleb Quillen to the bass section in the Fall of 2023. Caleb Quillen was a member of the Kansas City Symphony for seven seasons. He has also performed with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. Quillen studied at Rice University with Paul Ellison and Tim Pitts. He also attended New England Conservatory, where he studied with Lawrence Wolfe of the Boston Symphony and Donald Palma, co-founder of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He was a Tanglewood Fellow in 2015 and 2016. When not performing with the symphony, Quillen likes to rock climb, run, read and cook.

Full Bio

MEET CALEB

Hometown: Sugarland, Texas
Where did you study? New England Conservatory, Rice University
Favorite piece: Incredibly hard to narrow down! Beethoven’s Eroica if I had to answer
Favorite Movie: No Country for Old Men
Favorite Food: A simple breakfast sandwich
Favorite Place to Travel: Recently went to Mexico City. Amazing city!
Why did you choose your instrument? It chose me, actually. I wanted to play the cello, but the middle school orchestra needed bass players.
What are you looking forward to playing this season? As a bass player it is hard to beat a part written by Beethoven. Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is an incredible work. The runner up would be Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony.
What are you looking forward to about living in Dallas? Being closer to family. And of course, the food.