Friday’s (10/25) Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky and Southern Indiana) carries an obituary from the Colorado Springs Philharmonic on the death of conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith. “It is with extreme sadness that the Colorado Springs Philharmonic reports the death of Lawrence Leighton Smith, our beloved music director emeritus. Smith died at home on Friday, October 25, 2013 in the company of his family at the age of 77 from complications of Binswanger’s disease. Born April 8, 1936, Smith was one of the most respected American conductors of the 20th and 21st centuries.… As music director of the Louisville Orchestra from 1982 to 1993, Smith earned international recognition for both live performances and recordings. He also served as music director of the Austin, Oregon, and San Antonio symphonies.… Smith led many performances at the Manhattan and the Yale University schools of music, the latter of which he was the conductor-in-residence and head of the orchestra and conducting program … He began his conducting career at Tanglewood as a musical assistant to Erich Leinsdorf, also spending time at the Peabody School of Music. He is a recipient of three honorary doctorates and, with the Louisville Orchestra, fourteen awards for adventurous programming from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.”
Posted October 28, 2013
