A vibrant presence in the
orchestral world, Lawrence Isaacson continues to make his mark as one of today's
newest faces on the conducting scene. Interesting programming, energetic
performances, audience interaction and a spirit of collaboration with presenters
and ensembles alike, have earned him numerous re-engagements.
Currently, he is the Music Director
and Conductor of the Neponset Valley Philharmonic Orchestra (MA), an orchestra
that he founded in 2007. Mr. Isaacson is a regular guest conductor at the Aspen
(CO) and Round Top (TX) Music Festivals and has also guest conducted the Oregon
Symphony (OR) and at the Eastern Music Festival (NC). He is the former Director
of Orchestras at the Usdan Center for the Performing Arts (NY) as well as
Conductor emeritus of the Parkway Concert Orchestra (MA).
Mr. Isaacson brings to the podium
many years of experience as an orchestral musician. A former trombonist, who
began his career at the age of 19 performing as an extra with the Chicago
Symphony at Carnegie Hall, he has performed worldwide in concert and on
recordings with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Chamber
Players, Detroit Symphony, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, San Diego
Symphony and the Empire Brass Quintet. These years of instrumental performance
allowed him to collaborate with many great conductors, including
Georg Solti, Edo de Waart, Seiji Ozawa, Bernard Haitink, Neemi Järvi, Leonard
Bernstein, John Williams, Keith Lockhart and Erich Kunzel.
Born into a family of musicians and
educators, Mr. Isaacson has taught for over 25 years. He is a former faculty
member of Boston University, MIT, New England Conservatory, Tufts University,
University of New Hampshire, Mannes College of Music, McMaster University and
Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. As an educator of younger students, he
has conducted Middle to High school students in all-District orchestras and at
the Usdan Center for the Performing and Creative Arts on Long Island. His
current teaching duties include a faculty position at The Boston Conservatory,
where he is Assistant Director of the Music Division.
Mr. Isaacson has released two
albums to date. "Heroic Sounds", performed by the Old South Brass, was released
in 2001. The CD includes numerous transcriptions for brass, organ and timpani
and four new commissions by Boston composer Kevin Kaska. The second CD was
released in 2005 and brings together the Metropolitan Wind Symphony and two
great brass soloists of today - Adam Frey, Euphonium and Scott Hartman,
Trombone.
In addition to his work with
Maestro Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C.
(2002), Mr. Isaacson trained at the Academy of Conducting at Aspen (2000) under
Maestros David Zinman, Muray Sidlin and Jorma Panula. He has had additional
studies at workshops under several masters of the podium: Michael Tilson Thomas,
Christopher Wilkins, Larry Rachlef, Daniel Lewis and Simon Rattle.
Copyright 2010 Lawrence Isaacson All rights reserved.