Twin siblings Daniel and Amina Knapp have been playing together ever since they started learning music at age 3. The Knapps started with training through Lucas Shogren and the Sartory String Quartet Institute before joining the Artaria Chamber Music School and Stringwood Summer Festival (2018-21) where they studied with Norman Fischer on the Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello. However, their biggest mentors and supporters throughout their life have been their parents, who not only taught them the joys of music, but also the value in connection and friendship that the duet can bring. Daniel and Amina are now both studying at Oberlin Conservatory with Sibbi Bernhardson and Dmitry Kouzov and both play on instruments made by David Folland. 

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As members of the MVHS Chamber and Symphony Orchestra, Daniel and Amina toured Prague, Ceský Krumlov, Vienna, and New York. Their teacher, Lucas Shogren, is a member of the award winning group Clocks and Clouds, and has collaborated with the Twins many times, including a join performance at the Clocks and Clouds Spring Rock Concert and coachings on his compositions "Audeamus" and "Pierce the Night" for a performance during the 2020 MVHS Graduation Ceremony. Before leaving for college, Daniel and Amina were awarded as finalists in the 2020 MYS Concerto Competition, performing Saint Seans' Le Muse et Le Poet with Kerri LeJeune. They were also the two winners of the 2020 MVHS Concerto Competition, performing Elgar's Cello Concerto and Brahms' Violin Concerto respectively.  

 

As active advocates of new music, Daniel and Amina have commissioned many new works for Violin and Cello, with recent partnerships with composers Samuel Mutter, Evan Judson and Aaron Lieberman. During the 2020 COVID-19 Quarantine, they streamed a series of recitals: "The Knapp Spring Series" and their "Winter Recital", commissioning two new works from composers Samuel Mutter and Evan Judson. Their premiere recording of Judson's "Pantomime for Violin and Cello" was featured on Minnesota Public Radio as part of Project DJ.