Acclaimed for his imaginative programming, evocative command of distinctive styles and composers, and vibrant performances, American conductor Lawrence Golan has served as Music Director of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013. Lawrence is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Bayerische Philharmonie in Munich, Germany and Music Director of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra in Washington state, the York Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania and 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.
Concerts of note this 2022-23 season include Yakima Symphony Orchestra’s season opening concert featuring the World Premiere of Golan’s own Fantasia for Orchestra, and the symphony’s February performance featuring photographer and multimedia artist Nicholas Bardonnay in a concert juxtaposing Mozart’s Divertimento in D (with Golan playing violin and conducting) and Symphony No. 40 with two works by Revueltas and two works by Moncayo. The orchestra also presents an all-Rachmaninov concert and two thrilling pops concerts: one featuring the film Nosferatu and the other “West Side Story Retold” with the Yakima Symphony Chorus and Chorusmaster Justin Raffa. The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary season features several special performances: the opening night concert offers Tchaikovsky’s fifth symphony as well as the Colorado premiere of Golan’s Fantasia for Orchestra; its May celebratory concert features highlights from the orchestra’s first performance in 1948 including Sibelius’ En Saga. The York Symphony Orchestra marks the opening night of its 90th season with Beethoven’s Consecration of the House. It also presents “Copland & Bartók: American Voices” in November, featuring Henry Fogel as narrator for Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and composer/musician Jill Haley’s National Parks Suite featuring the artist as soloist. York’s season concludes with Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, featuring the York Symphony Chorus and Chorusmaster Kathleen Shannon. Guesting highlights include conducting the November 2022 Finals of the Spanish Composers International Piano Competition in Madrid, Spain, and returning to Arizona in December to lead the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in The Nutcracker with Ballet Tucson. Upcoming summer 2023 engagements include the State Symphony Orchestra of Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan, the Hotchkiss Music Festival in Madrid, Spain, and a return to the Bayerische Philharmonie in Munich as well as to the María Herrero International Piano Competition’s jury panel in Granada.
An award-winning recording artist, Mr. Golan has made several recordings, both as conductor and as a violinist, including two from the 2021-22 season: the Yakima Symphony Orchestra with the Villalobos Brothers and Centaur Records’ release of Lawrence Golan, Fantasia.. Also a successful author/composer/arranger, Golan has works and books published by Albany Records, Spurwink River Publishing, Mel Bay Publications, Ablaze Records, LudwigMasters, Notation Central, and Globe Edit. Golan's recording as a violinist called “Indian Summer: The Music of George Perlman,” won two Global Music Awards.
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. A native of Chicago, 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.