Daniel Montes de Oca Téllez is a composer, choral musician, recorder player, and music educator. Originally from Mexico City, he recently earned his Bachelor of Music Composition at the University of Southern California.
As a composer, he has collaborated with musicians and ensembles such as Karen Ouzounian, Ashley Jackson, Eric Wubbles, Katherine Schoepflin, Dana Jessen, Laura Cocks, Osnat Netzer, Tawnya Popoff, Michael Kropf, Sebastián Espinosa, Alejandro Serna, and the Aizuri Quartet. Likewise, he has written music for numerous short-film and videogame projects, including Tortillas (2023), A Game Called Paako (2024), and Corazón en el diamante (2024).
As a recorder player, he is an active player of contemporary classical music, having been awarded the USC Thornton Composition Department’s Most Valuable Player in 2024, and the Walden School Player’s Award in 2019.
In past years, he has served as a music educator in various settings, including the Schola Cantorum de México community choir, and as a mentor for USC Thornton Community Engagement Programs. He is passionate about fostering creativity and emotional vulnerability through playful artistic exploration, and he believes in the power of musical practice as a vehicle for community wellbeing. He is quite excited to join the ranks of ETM-LA and looks forward to helping provide every child with access to education in the art that he loves.