Smith, Lawrence Leighton
Smith, Lawrence Leighton
Smith, Lawrence Leighton , American conductor and pianist; b. Portland, Ore., April 8, 1936. He studied piano with Ariel Rubstein in Portland and then with Leonard Shure in N.Y. before pursuing his education at Portland State Univ. (B.S., 1956) and at the Mannes Coll. of Music in N.Y. (B.M., 1959). In 1964 he received first prize at the Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition in N.Y., and was then asst. conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. (1964–67). He was music director of the Westchester (N.Y.) Sym. Orch. (1967–69) and principal guest conductor of the Phoenix (Ariz.) Sym. Orch. (1971–73), and also was music director of the Austin (Tex.) Sym. Orch. (1972–73). He served as music director of the Ore. Sym. Orch. in Portland (1973–80) and of the San Antonio Sym. Orch. (1980–85). Smith was artistic adviser and principal guest conductor of the N.C. Sym. Orch. in Raleigh (1980–81), music director of the Louisville Orch. (1983–94) and of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara (from 1985), and artistic director of the Philharmonia Orch. of Yale in New Haven (from 1995). In addition to his appearances as a conductor in the U.S. and abroad, he continued to perform as a pianist, especially as an accompanist.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire