Principal Clarinet of Symphoria, Allan Kolsky was born in Providence R.I., and held positions with the Louisiana Philharmonic and the Utah Symphony before joining the Syracuse Symphony as Principal Clarinet in 2002. He has appeared as soloist with both Symphoria and the SSO in clarinet concertos by Mozart, Nielsen, ...

Principal Clarinet of Symphoria, Allan Kolsky was born in Providence R.I., and held positions with the Louisiana Philharmonic and the Utah Symphony before joining the Syracuse Symphony as Principal Clarinet in 2002. He has appeared as soloist with both Symphoria and the SSO in clarinet concertos by Mozart, Nielsen, Finzi and
Weber. He has also performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Chautauqua Symphony, the Skaneateles Festival, Glimmerglass Opera and the Colorado Music Festival. In local recitals and chamber music, he has performed for Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, Joyful
Noise, and Syracuse OASIS. Civic Morning Musicals awarded him the 2011 CMM Award for Excellence in Music Performance in Central New York.

Mr. Kolsky holds music performance degrees from Temple and DePaul Universities, where he studied with Anthony Gigliotti (Principal Clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra) and Larry Combs (Principal Clarinet of the Chicago Symphony). His early teachers included Pasquale Cardillo and Frank Marinaccio. As a student, Kolsky won a Tanglewood Fellowship, performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and played in master classes coached by Robert Marcellus, David Shifrin and Harold Wright.

A co-host and featured performer at the 2001 conference of the International Clarinet Association, Kolsky taught clarinet for several years at the University of New Orleans. He currently teaches at both Hamilton College and Onondaga Community College as an adjunct Lecturer in Clarinet.

In addition to music, Allan loves great literature, and his humorous, 500-word parody of William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury” won the international 2001 Faux Faulkner Contest. He has also acted in several community Shakespeare productions with the Syracuse Shakespeare Festival. Allan is married to Ellen Somers, the Assistant Director of Syracuse Jewish Family Service.

Lawrence Loh is Music Director of Symphoria (Syracuse, NY). Mr. Loh was Assistant, Associate and Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2005-2015 and he returns annually to lead a wide variety of programs.

Mr. Loh’s previous positions include: Music Director of the West Virginia ...

Lawrence Loh is Music Director of Symphoria (Syracuse, NY). Mr. Loh was Assistant, Associate and Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2005-2015 and he returns annually to lead a wide variety of programs.

Mr. Loh’s previous positions include: Music Director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Syracuse Opera; Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra; Associate Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.

Mr. Loh is active as a guest conductor, both in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to annual concerts in Pittsburgh and Dallas, his recent engagements include the Boston Pops (Tanglewood), North Carolina Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Pensacola Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Albany Symphony and the Cathedral Choral Society at the Washington National Cathedral. Past engagements include the National (Washington D.C.), Indianapolis, Tacoma, Utah, Rochester, Naples, Knoxville, Florida, El Paso, San Luis Obispo, Edmonton, Colorado, Charleston (SC), Malaysia, Daejeon (South Korea) and Greater Bridgeport Orchestras. His summer appearances include the festivals of Grant Park, Sun Valley, Bravo Vail Valley, Aspen, Mann Center in Philadelphia, Breckenridge, Las Vegas, Hot Springs, the Kinhaven Music School and the Performing Arts Institute (PA). In the summer of 2016, he made his debut at Tanglewood, conducting Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra and returned to Tanglewood in 2017 to conduct the Boston Pops.

Having a particular affinity for pops programming, Mr. Loh has been engaged for repeat performances with Chris Botti, Idina Menzel, Ann Hampton Callaway and more. He has assisted John Williams on multiple occasions and conducted numerous sold-out John Williams tribute concerts. He is particularly adept at conducting concerts synchronizing live orchestral music with film, and he has lead Jurassic Park, Pixar in Concert, Disney in Concert, The Wizard of Oz and Singin’ in the Rain, among other concert productions.

Mr. Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale, his Masters in Choral Conducting from Indiana University and his Bachelor of Arts and Certificate of Management Studies from the University of Rochester. Lawrence Loh was born in southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennifer have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary. Follow him on instagram @conductorlarryloh or twitter @lawrenceloh or visit his website, www.lawrenceloh.com.