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DANIEL H. LEFLER

Danman's Music School Founder & Owner

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FREE REPORTS FROM DAN LEFLER 

Dan Lefler has been performing, recording, and teaching music in the Southern California area for over 30 years. Today, Dan's Music School has 25+ instructors, 8 studios, over 10,000 alumni, and hundreds of happy kids and parents!
Dan has also published numerous CD's of his original and favorite classical melodies.  

 

 

 

Our History

A journey of music, passion, and persistence — since 1987.

Danman’s Music School was founded in 1987 by Daniel H. Lefler, a local musician with a dream to make music accessible, fun, and community-centered. What followed was a decades-long adventure of gigs, lessons, cartoons, retail shops, dreams, failures, comebacks — and above all, thousands of students empowered through music.

Here’s how we got here:

Timeline of Milestones

  • 1987 – Danman’s Music Co. is founded; Dan teaches lessons from home and performs live nightly

  • 1988 – Wins local talent show and begins weekly gig at Dana Point Wine Bar & Café (now StillWater)

  • 1990 - Creates musical cartoon characters Danman and Clef for animated lessons

  • 1991 – Moves into first retail location in Dana Point

  • 1992 – Business closes; returns to private lessons and performing

  • 1992–1998 – Records 9 original and classical music CDs

  • 1992–2002 – Performs 300+ live shows per year

  • 1999 – Incorporates Danman’s Music and moves into a larger retail space with partners

  • 2001 – Dissolves partnership; returns to home-based teaching

  • 2002 – Opens Danman’s Music School in its current location at 24699 Del Prado

  • 2003 – Adds full-service retail music store

  • 2005 – Expands into upstairs teaching space for kids and adults

  • 2006 – Launches Danman’s ProTools Recording Studio

  • 2007 – Opens Danman’s Dance & Children’s Theater

  • 2008 - Founds the Dana Point Children’s Theater & Music Co., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

  • 2008 – Produces 8 children’s musicals including Annie, Charlie Brown, and Grease

  • 2009 – Closes theater, recording studio, and nonprofit due to economic shifts

  • 2010–2011 – Survives the recession and celebrates 22 years in business

  • 2012 – Hosts 60th student concert; Dan’s 24-year weekly performance run ends after an arm injury

  • 2013 – Hired as the Sound Engineer at StillWater, running live audio for weekend bands

  • 2014 – Celebrates 25 years in business

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Vintage Records

More On Danman

Dan Lefler – Musician, Mentor, and Founder of Danman’s Music School

Dan Lefler started Danman’s Music School in 1987 as a young, self-taught multi-instrumentalist with a unique gift: he had a knack for collecting students. While performing at festivals, art shows, senior centers, and community events, it became clear that Dan didn’t just love music — he loved teaching it.

In 1988, after winning a local talent show in Dana Point, Dan was invited to play a weekly gig at the Old Dana Point Cafe & Wine Bar — a venue that would later become the Renaissance, and eventually StillWater, the iconic live music venue next door to the school. That one-night booking turned into a 24-year residency, with Dan playing every kind of shift imaginable — Tuesdays, weekends, Sunday brunches, and his signature Wednesday night show with The Danimals — until an unexpected arm injury in 2012 brought the incredible run to a close.

During those years, Dan produced several original CDs, taught hundreds of students, and built a legacy in the local music scene. In 1999, he moved his teaching business into the building where Danman’s Music School still proudly operates today:

📍 24699 Del Prado, Dana Point, CA 92629

Fun Facts About Danman’s

  • Dan Lefler has performed at 5,600+ live events (1987–2013)

  • Danman’s has taught an estimated 100,000+ private music lessons

  • Produced over 7,000 video music lessons between 1997–2013

  • Logged 11,000+ hours coding the Danman’s Online Music Library

  • YouTube channel surpassed 14 million views and 12,500 subscribers by 2014

  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Yelp!
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24699 Del Prado, Dana Point CA 92629
(949)-496-6556
danmansmusic@gmail.com
bryce.danmans@gmail.com
@Danmansmusicschool 

 Refer-a-friend or family member and receive a $100 credit towards your music lesson account or store merchandise!

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