Acclaimed for his imaginative programming, evocative command of distinctive styles and composers, and vibrant performances, American conductor Lawrence Golan holds posts in the United States and abroad. He serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Bayerische Philharmonie in Munich, Germany, and as Music Director of Washington state’s Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Pennsylvania’s York Symphony Orchestra, and Colorado’s Denver Philharmonic. In addition, he is conductor of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre at the University of Denver. A dynamic, charismatic communicator and popular collaborator, Golan has conducted throughout the United States and in Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, El Salvador, England, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Following 2023 summer engagements with the State Symphony Orchestra of Kazakhstan (Astana), Spain’s Hotchkiss Music Festival, the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Columbia, Maestro Golan’s 2023-24 season includes several concerts of note: Yakima Symphony Orchestra’s opening night features all-Mexican works, including Marquez’s Conga del Fuego, Rodriguez’s Mosaico Mexicano, and Golan playing violin in Ponce Estellita, arranged by Heifetz and orchestrated by Golan; York Symphony Orchestra’s October screening of the 1925 classic silent horror film The Phantom of the Opera, with a new soundtrack by Craig Safan; Denver Philharmonic’s holiday concerts filled with traditional carols and festive holiday music featuring the Colorado Chorale; the Lamont Symphony Orchestra’s world premiere presentation of Golan’s own composition, Giovanna d’Arco (Joan of Arc); and a return to the Tucson Symphony and Ballet Tucson to lead performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Other highlights include Maestro Golan sharing the stage with his mentor, Robert Spano, and the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert featuring works by Higdon, Elgar, and Schumann; a commercial recording for Albany Records of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 “Lobgesang” and a newly commissioned work by Kenji Bunch with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; and a commercial recording for Centaur Records of works inspired by paintings, including Liszt’s Hunnenschlacht, Rachmaninoff’s The Isle of the Dead, and a brand new work called The Galleries by William Popp with the York Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights from recent seasons include leading the 2022 Finals of the Spanish Composers International Piano Competition in Madrid, Spain, serving on the jury panel of the María Herrero International Piano Competition in Granada, return engagements with Germany’s Bayerische Philharmonic, Italy's Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Grosseto, and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Debuts include Italy’s Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, Mexico's Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes, China's Wuhan Philharmonic, the Maui Pops Orchestra, the Batumi Music Festival in Georgia, Eastern Europe, and a 14-city tour of China with the Denver Philharmonic.
As a recording artist, Mr. Golan has made numerous recordings, both as conductor and violinist. Recordings include two from the 2021-22 season: the Yakima Symphony Orchestra with the Villalobos Brothers and Centaur Records’ release of Lawrence Golan, Fantasia. His discography includes the 2018 Albany Records world premiere release of the Blu-ray disc and audio CD of composer Jiaojiao Zhou’s theatrical symphonic poem Ode to Nature with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and producer Dennis Law and three CDs with the Moravian Philharmonic for Albany Records. As a violinist, Golan recorded Fantasia; a collection of works for solo violin and Indian Summer: The Music of George Perlman, which won two Global Music Awards.
A staunch advocate for music education, Lawrence Golan has been Director of Orchestral Studies and head of the graduate conducting program at the University of Denver since 2001. There he has won eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music, three Downbeat Magazine Awards for “Best College Symphony Orchestra,” and The American Prize for Orchestral Performance – Collegiate Division. His latest honor is the 2021 Distinguished Scholar Award from the University of Denver.
An accomplished violinist, Golan served as Principal Second Violinist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (1989-1990) and then Concertmaster of the Portland Symphony Orchestra for eleven years (1990-2001), before focusing his career on the podium. He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony under Daniel Barenboim, and continues to perform, primarily to benefit orchestras of which he is Music Director.
A respected author/composer/arranger, in 2021 Mr. Golan released a new composition, Fantasia for Orchestra, distributed by Notation Central, and his latest book, Score Study Passes, published by Globe Edit. Golan’s edition and reduced orchestration of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is published by Spurwink River Publishing and is used by orchestras and ballet companies across North America and Europe. His scholarly-performing edition of the solo violin works of J. S. Bach, which includes a handbook on Baroque Performance Practice, and The Lawrence Golan Violin Scale System are both published by Mel Bay Publications. Golan’s Fantasia for Solo Violin is published by LudwigMasters and won the Global Music Award for composition in 2011. A recording of the piece appears on both the Ablaze Records disc Millennial Masters Vol. 9 and the Centaur Records CD Lawrence Golan, Fantasia.
A native of Chicago, Lawrence Golan comes from a musical family. His father, the late Joseph Golan, was a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for forty-nine years and Principal Second Violinist for thirty-five of those years. Lawrence Golan received his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Master of Music in Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting from the Indiana University School of Music and his D.M.A. in Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In 1999 he was awarded Tanglewood Music Center’s Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship, and in 2002, Aspen Music Festival’s Conducting Fellowship.
Mr. Golan’s previous positions include Resident Conductor, The Phoenix Symphony (2006-2010), Music Director, Phoenix Youth Symphony (2006-2009), Music Director, Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestras (2002-2006), founder and Artistic Director, Atlantic Chamber Orchestra (1998-2003), Music Director, Portland Ballet Company (1997-2013), and Music Director, Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra (1990-2001). Lawrence and his wife Cecilia, who is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, have two young children.
(Two shorter length biographies may be found in the digital press kit.)
AWARDS
2021 Distinguished Scholar Award, University of Denver
2017 Ictus International Music Competition, First Place, Denver Philharmonic Orchestra
2014 ASCAP Award, First Place - Collegiate Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2013 Downbeat Magazine, Best College Symphony Orchestra Award, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2012 The American Prize for Orchestral Programming, Grand Prize Winner, Yakima Symphony Orchestra
2012 The American Prize, Third Place - Professional Division, Orchestral Conducting
2012 The American Prize, Second Place - Orchestral Performance, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2012 Prestige Music Awards, Gold Winner – Classical Music, Tchaikovsky 6 & Tchaikovsky 6.1, Moravian Philharmonic, Albany Records
2012 Prestige Music Awards, Gold Winner – Orchestral Music, Tchaikovsky 6 & Tchaikovsky 6.1, Moravian Philharmonic, Albany Records
2012 Global Music Awards, Award of Excellence – Student Album, Beethoven 7 & Beethoven 7.1, Lamont Symphony Orchestra, Albany Records
2012 Global Music Awards, Award of Merit – Student Instrumental Music, Beethoven 7 & Beethoven 7.1, Lamont Symphony Orchestra, Albany Records
2012 Downbeat Magazine, Best College Symphony Orchestra Award, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2012 ASCAP Award, Third Place - Collegiate Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2012 ASCAP Award, Third Place - Group 7/8 Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Yakima Symphony Orchestra
2011 Global Music Awards, Best of Show – Album, Indian Summer: The Music of George Perlman, Lawrence Golan, Violin & Martin Perry, Piano, Albany Records
2011 Global Music Awards, Award of Excellence – Acoustic Instrumental Within a Group, Indian Summer: The Music of George Perlman, Lawrence Golan, Violin, Albany Records
2011 Global Music Awards, Award of Excellence – Composition, Fantasia for Solo Violin, Lawrence Golan, Composer, Ludwig Masters Publications
2011 ASCAP Award, Second Place - Group 7/8 Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Yakima Symphony Orchestra
2010 ASCAP Award, First Place - Collegiate Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2008 ASCAP Award, Second Place - Collegiate Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2006 ASCAP Award, First Place - Collegiate Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2005 ASCAP Award, Second Place - Collegiate Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2004 ASCAP Award Third Place - Collegiate Orchestras, Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2003 Downbeat Magazine, Best College Symphony Orchestra Award, Lamont Symphony Orchestra
2002 Aspen Music Festival, American Academy of Conducting Fellowship
1999 Tanglewood Music Center, Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship
1999 University of Southern Maine, College of Arts and Sciences, Outstanding Teacher and Scholar Award