Conductors

Now in his fifth season as Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, conductor LUCAS RICHMAN has been a leader in his generation, not only in the versatility of the repertoire he presents, but also in his ability to engage audiences beyond the concert hall. He has said that he tries to give to the audience, ìAn understanding of the emotions within the music and the opportunity for them to feel, by the end of a concert, that they've been on an extraordinary journey, the memory of which will stay with them long after the last note has been sounded.î

This season sees Mr. Richman conducting at the KSO a broad range of classical and contemporary repertoire, in conjunction with such notable soloists as Mischa Dichter (playing Tchaikowskyís Piano Concerto No. 1), Cynthia DeAlmeida (playing Richmanís own Oboe Concerto, ìThe Clearingî), and Jeffrey Biegel, (playing Lowell Liebermannís Piano Concerto No. 3, which was part of a joint commission by the KSO and several other major American orchestras). Another highlight will be a presentation of the Grande Messe des morts (Requiem) by Berlioz.

Mr. Richman has appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Delaware Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, the SWR Radio Orchestra of Kaiserslautern (Germany), the Tiroler Kammerorchester InnStrumenti (Austria) and the Zagreb Philharmonic (Croatia). Mr. Richman served as Assistant and Resident Conductor for Mariss Jansons and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra between 1998-2004 and, from 1988 to 1991, he was the Assistant Conductor for the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. In recent years, he has collaborated with notable soloists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Garrick Ohlsson, Lang Lang, Frank Peter Zimmerman, Gil Shaham, Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Mark OíConnor, Andre Watts and Radu Lupu.

Mr. Richman received a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from the University of Southern California, where he was a student of Daniel Lewis. He studied privately with Fritz Zweig and Victor Yampolsky, and was also selected as a conducting fellow in master classes with Pierre Boulez, AndrÈ Previn, Herbert Blomstedt and Kurt Sanderling. Earlier in his musical journey, he toured with West Germanyís Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, for which he was one of four conductors from around the world selected by Leonard Bernstein to share the maestroís podium for concerts presented in London and Moscow. Over the past decade, Mr. Richman collaborated with numerous film composers as their conductor, recording scores for such films as the Academy Award-nominated The Village (with violinist, Hilary Hahn), As Good As It Gets, Face/Off, Se7en, Breakdown, and The Manchurian Candidate.

Mr. Richman is a respected leader in the field of planning and conducting concerts for young people, having done so for nearly twenty years with various orchestras across the United States. An accomplished composer as well, Mr. Richman has had his music performed by over two hundred orchestras in the last ten years and his works written specifically for children have been featured in young peopleís concerts presented by orchestras such as the Atlanta Symphony, the San Diego Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony.

Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony, his Concerto for Oboe was premiered in February, 2006 (Cynthia DeAlmeida, oboe; Sir Andrew Davis, conductor), while the Knoxville Symphony presented his Concerto for Percussion in March, 2006 (Timothy Adams, percussion). Mr. Richmanís choral work, Arise Triumphant, O Blessed Muse!, was premiered in January, 2005, with Frederica von Stade as the soloist. Recent recordings of Mr. Richmanís music include those made by Giora Feidman (Variations for Clarinet and Cello) and the Tiroler Kammerorchester InnStrumenti of Innsbruck (The Seven Circles of Life) while the KSOís recording of his song for breast-cancer awareness (ìWe Share A Bondî) is available for download at www.komenknoxville.org. A new compact disc, DAY IS DONE, features original and traditional lullabies composed and arranged by Mr. Richman as an aid for parents wishing to introduce their children to the joys of music. The CD, a companion childrenís book and a listing of Mr. Richmanís compositions can be found through LeDor Group, Inc. at www.ledorgroup.com

Mr. Richman and the Knoxville Symphony (and the Pittsburgh Symphony, with whom Mr. Richman was formally associate conductor), were the recipients of the 2006 Bank of America Award for Excellence in Orchestra Education. The KSO ìMusic and Wellness Programî was recognized for its partnership with community organizations to extend the healing power of music. In addition, Broadcast Music, Inc., in recognition of the workshop he has taught for ten years on the subject of conducting for film, presented M∞ Richman with their Classic Contribution Award at the annual BMI Film and Television Awards Gala in 2007.