Lawrence Isaacson, Music Director
Now in his third season as Music Director of the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, Mr. Isaacson is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Parkway Concert Orchestra and Conductor of the Old South Brass Ensemble. He is a regular guest conductor at the Aspen Music Festival and has also conducted the Oregon Symphony and at the Round Top and Eastern music festivals. A champion of new music, Mr. Isaacson has commissioned new works by Daniel Pinkham, Kevin Kaska, and Allen Feinstein.
His recordings include the recently released MWS album entitled Little Buckaroos and Heroic Sounds, with the Old South Brass. The Old South CD includes numerous transcriptions for brass, organ and timpani and four new commissions by Boston composer Kevin Kaska.
In addition to his work with Maestro Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C. ('02), Mr. Isaacson trained at the Academy of Conducting at Aspen ('00) 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.
As a trombonist, Mr. Isaacson has been heard 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. A graduate of Northwestern University with honors, his trombone teachers were Frank Crisafulli and Arnold Jacobs.
Mr. Isaacson's current teaching duties include a faculty position at The Boston Conservatory, where he is Assistant Director of the Music Division. He is a former faculty member of Boston University, New England Conservatory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, University of New Hampshire, Mannes College of Music and Boston University's Tanglewood Institute.
