Tomasz Golka
Tomasz Golka (born 1975) is a Polish-American conductor, composer and violinist. Golka is the son of pianist Anna Karczewska-Golka and trombonist George Golka. He is the great-grandson of Max Stern. His younger brother Adam Golka is a pianist.[1]
Career
Golka was born in 1975 in Warsaw, in Poland.[2] His family emigrated to Mexico when he was young.[2] He completed bachelor's and master's degrees in violin at the Shepherd School of Music of Rice University in Houston, Texas, and became an American citizen in 1996.[3] He studied conducting under David Effron at Indiana University and later under Markand Thakar and Gustav Meier at the Peabody Conservatory of Music of Johns Hopkins University.[2][4][5]
In 2003, Golka won first prize at the Eduardo Mata International Conducting Competition in Mexico City.[6][7][8]
From 2003-04, Golka was a visiting professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and served as a conductor for the Ball State Symphony Orchestra.[9]
In 2006, Golka was a conducting fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival.[10] His work at Tanglewood included conducting a performance of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale with composers Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, and John Harbison as narrators.[11]
From 2007 to 2012, Golka was music director of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra.[12][13]
From 2008 to 2010, Golka was music director of the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra.[14] In 2010, Golka became music director of the Riverside Philharmonic. From 2014 to 2015, he was Chief Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá.[15] With the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, he gave several world premieres, including the Colombian premiere of Thomas Adès's Asyla.[16]
Golka received a certificate in film scoring from UCLA Extension, where he was the recipient of the BMI/Jerry Goldsmith Scholarship.[17]
On 1 September 2014, Golka married Anna Kostyuchek, associate concertmaster of the Riverside Philharmonic. The couple reside in Los Angeles, California.[18]
List of Works
- Celsius 233 for orchestra (2010)
- Valhalla Fanfare for brass and percussion (2010)
- Orchestration of J.S. Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor, BWV 582 (2012)
- The Transit of Venus for violin and orchestra (2013)
- Festivus, Festivus for voice and orchestra or voice and piano (2015)
- Ukrainian Christmas Overture for orchestra (2016)
- Variation on "The Battle Cry of Freedom" for orchestra (2017)
- An Animated Adventure for orchestra (2018)
- Garryowen Variations for orchestra (2018)
- True Green for any instrument and piano (2018) or for 13 instruments (2020)
- Felix in Hollywood, a symphonic score to accompany the 1923 cartoon (2019)
- Afikoman for clarinet and piano (2021)
- The Grief of Ave Maria for violin and piano (2023)
Discography
- Villa-Lobos, Heitor: Ciranda das sete notas. Ezequiel Fainguersch, bassoon / Bloomington Chamber Orchestra. Melo Records, 2004.
- Stravinsky, Igor: L'Histoire du soldat. Elliott Carter (The Soldier) / Milton Babbitt (The Devil) / John Harbison (Narrator), Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center. Tanglewood Audio Archives, 2006.[19]
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ William Kerns (2009-04-30). "Adam Golka to return for Arts Festival". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
- ^ a b c Zapata, Jorge. "El polaco Tomasz Golka será el titular de la Sinfónica de Colombia", minuto30.com, February 17, 2014. Retrieved on November 27, 2015. (in Spanish)
- ^ "Immigrant Father and Son: First-Year Graduate Students" (Press release). Rice University. 1996-10-25. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ Our Music Director. Riverside, California: Riverside County Philharmonic. Archived 1 October 2011.
- ^ Terry Rindfleisch (2009-01-29). "Symphony Names Six Conductor Finalists". La Crosse Tribune. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
- ^ Espinosa, Pablo. "Recupera vigencia el proyecto educativo-musical de Eduardo Mata", La Jornada, September 9, 2003. Retrieved on November 27, 2015.
- ^ Sevilla, María Eugenia. "Gana director polaco Premio Eduardo Mata", Reforma, September 9, 2003. Retrieved on November 27, 2015.
- ^ Jarosław Gołembiowski (2003-10-12). "Triumf polskiego dyrygenta". Monitor Chicago. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ History of Ball State Symphony Orchestra
- ^ Dyer, Richard. "Despite kinks in its debut, TMC Orchestra shows promise", The Boston Globe, July 5, 2006. Retrieved on November 27, 2015.
- ^ Daniel J. Wakin (2006-07-27). "With a Nod to Stravinsky, Three Composers Become Stars of the Stage at Tanglewood". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ William Kerns (2007-02-03). "Meet the new maestro: LSO, Golka seal deal". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ William Kerns (2012-05-04). "Golka plans classical spectacle for final Lubbock concerts". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ Jaime Zublick (2008-05-30). "Work ethic key in settling search". Williamsport Sun Gazette. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ Daniel Grajales (2014-02-23). "Golka, nuevo director de la Sinfónica Nacional". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
- ^ "Me la jugaré por la música colombiana", "Semana", May 25, 2014. Retrieved on November 27, 2015.
- ^ "UCLA Extension Student Tomasz Golka Awarded 2017 BMI/Jerry Goldsmith Film Scoring Scholarship".
- ^ Sherli Leonard (2014-11-19). "Riverside: A symphonic love story". The Press Enterprise. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ "Tanglewood 75 – from the audio archives: Day 26", Tanglewood Music Center, July 25, 2006.