A native of Stickney, Illinois, Daniel Gingrich joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1975 after serving as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the Chicago Youth Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 1969 until 1972. In 2002, ninth music director Daniel Barenboim appointed him associate principal horn and, at the request of Riccardo Muti, he served as acting principal horn from 2013 until 2019. Gingrich retired from the CSO in 2026.
Across his five decades with the Orchestra, Gingrich appeared as a soloist on multiple occasions, including performances of Schumann’s Konzertstück for Four Horns under conductors Riccardo Chailly, James Levine, Christoph Eschenbach and Sir Georg Solti; Mozart’s horn concertos with Esa-Pekka Salonen and Edo de Waart; and Schubert’s Auf dem Strom alongside tenor Steven Tharp and Daniel Barenboim as pianist. An active chamber musician and member of the Grammy Award–winning Chicago Pro Musica, Gingrich also spent twenty years coaching the horn section of the Civic Orchestra and touring Chicago-area schools with a CSO brass quintet. “Being chosen to join my esteemed mentors in the CSO and then play in the Orchestra as it evolved over half a century has been an experience that has exceeded my wildest dreams,” said Gingrich.
In retirement, Gingrich and his wife Mary look forward to traveling to visit family and friends. He also plans to continue his volunteer work tutoring adults in basic education.
