Growing up in Australia as second child of five to Australian Chinese parents, Daniel Dodds gave his first performances at the age of five.

Leaving Australia at the age of seventeen, having been awarded numerous scholarships, he pursued his violin studies with Prof. Gunars Larsens at the Musikhochschule of Lucerne in Switzerland. Completing all three diplomas with distinction, he received further inspiration from collaboration with Rudolf Baumgartner, Franco Gulli, Keiko Wataya, and one of the masters of the golden age of violin playing, Nathan Milstein. After performing a Caprice by Paganini at a masterclass for Milstein, Milstein exclaimed to the public gathered around: “Who is this fellow? Could this possibly be Paganini’s grandson?”

Daniel Dodds career has not followed any particular path, sporting a rich diversity of experience in the fields of orchestral, chamber and solo literature.
He is currently first concertmaster of the world renowned chamber orchestra, Festival Strings Lucerne, leading the orchestra in concerts all around the globe. He also appears regularly as soloist with this orchestra, recently in Lucerne at the Lucerne Festival, in Thailand, in North America and Mexico. As a member of the Chamber Soloists Lucerne Daniel Dodds has performed an extensive and broad range of chamber music works from duo to nonett, from early baroque through to première performances of works by contemporary composers, also in crossover projects, with jazz, tango, and far eastern elements Performances with Chamber Soloists Lucerne, have led him to performances throughout Switzerland, South America, India and China.
Following his successful debut at the Philharmonie in Berlin in February of 2007, Daniel Dodds will next be appearing as soloist with Festival Strings in their upcoming tour of South America, with concerts in Argentina, Brasil, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia, in autumn in Germany,with the Philharmonisches Orchester Giessen and the Folkwang Kammer Orchester Essen, and in 2008 in North America and Mexico with Festival Strings Lucerne.

Daniel Dodds plays the Stradivarius “ex Baumgartner” from 1717 generously provided by the foundation Festival Strings Lucerne

Daniel Dodds teaches a violin class at the Musikhochschule in Lucerne, where he lives with his wife and daughter.