Lucas Richman

KSO Music Director

Now in his seventh season as Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, conductor LUCAS RICHMAN is best known for his command of core repertoire, coupled with his finesse in presenting new and contemporary works. 

His extensive work with the KSO, and expanding reach into other American orchestras continue to illustrate Mr. Richman as a source of musical expertise and artistic excellence. Writing about last season’s finale, the Knoxville News-Sentinel exclaimed, “But to those who…went home at intermission, they missed what may well be one of the most stellar performances the KSO has ever played in its simply magnificent presentation of Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor." If playing like this is what maestro Lucas Richman and the KSO have spent this season developing, then the upcoming 75th anniversary season will be something definitely not to miss.”

Mr. Richman has appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, the SWR Radio Orchestra of Kaiserslautern (Germany), the Tiroler Kammerorchester InnStrumenti (Austria) and the Zagreb Philharmonic (Croatia). M° 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 O’Connor, 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, André Previn, Herbert Blomstedt and Kurt Sanderling. Earlier in his musical journey, he toured with West Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, for which he was one of four conductors from around the world selected by Leonard Bernstein to share the maestro’s 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, The Manchurian Candidate and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.

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, 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 people’s concerts presented by orchestras such as the Atlanta Symphony, the San Diego Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony. Taking children’s concert programming and musical education to new heights for the next generation, Mr. Richman is responsible for the creation of an animated guide to classical music, which is featured in full symphonic concerts. The character, Picardy Penguin, is entering its fourth year of performances with orchestras, both at home in Knoxville and around the US.

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. Richman’s choral work, Arise Triumphant, O Blessed Muse!, was premiered in January, 2005, with Frederica von Stade as the soloist. Recent recordings of M° Richman’s 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 KSO’s recording of his song for breast-cancer awareness (“We Share A Bond”) is available for download at www.komenknoxville.org. A hit with new families, his 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 children’s book and a listing of Mr. Richman’s compositions can be found through LeDor Group, Inc. at www.ledorgroup.com

Mr. Richman and the Knoxville Symphony, were the recipients of the 2006 Bank of America Award for Excellence in Orchestra Education. The KSO “Music and Wellness Program” 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 run for ten years on conducting for film, presented him with their Classic Contribution Award at the annual BMI Film and Television Awards Gala in 2007.