Lawrence Leighton Smith Stepping Down

Final concert in Spring 2011 • Search for successor to begin immediately

Lawrence Leighton Smith will hand off the baton after 11 years as music director of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and its predecessor, the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra. Smith announced his decision at a rehearsal for Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 on Wednesday night.
            “I feel it’s time for something different for everybody,” said Smith, who has led the Springs’ only professional orchestra since 2000. “In the professional arena, this is my longest stay anyplace.”
            “Larry is giving us two years notice,” said Nathan Newbrough, the Philharmonic’s president. “And that’s great, because the shoes he leaves us to fill are enormous.”
            “He’s been the perfect person for this orchestra,” said concertmaster Michael Hanson. “He’s the experienced musician and steady person we needed to take us through turbulent times.”
            The most turbulent time of all was the bankruptcy of the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra in January 2003. Smith’s announcement that he would stand by the musicians was a major impetus behind the decision to form the Colorado Springs Philharmonic that spring.
            Now that Smith feels the orchestra is ready for a different pair of hands, the task begins for Newbrough and others to find Smith’s replacement.
            “The search is a long and thoughtful process that’s extremely rewarding for the orchestra and the community,” said Newbrough. “Right now we’re in the process of assembling a group of musicians and community representatives to commence the search process.”
             “A conductor search is an exciting opportunity for an orchestra to find out about itself,” said Hanson. “It’s a marriage of personalities. Each new person brings something different, and the orchestra responds differently and sounds different for everyone.”
            Smith plans to take some time off come the summer of 2011 – but not too much time off. “I have some guest-conducting coming up,” he said. “I have a lot of composing on my plate. As long as I hang on to my marbles, there’s no lack of things to do.”
            Asked about highlights of his music-making in Colorado Springs, Smith mentioned the 2006 performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and the 2007 performance of Dvoøák’s Symphony No. 6 as two that stood out.
            “But I’m not leaving for two years,” he said. “There are some highlights I don’t know about yet.”