Music Director
David Anderson is in his fourteenth season as Music Director for the LGSO. During his tenure, the orchestra has experienced unprecedented growth in artistry, number of players, audience base, and budget. He has encouraged and taken part in efforts to expand educational offerings of the orchestra through masterclasses, collaborations, competitions, school-day concerts, unique concert formats, and mentorships. He was recently named winner of the American Prize in Conducting in the community orchestra division, 2018-19.
Anderson also serves on the faculties of Seton Hill University and the University of Pittsburgh. He is the conductor of the Johnstown Symphony Youth Orchestra, keyboardist for the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, and a freelance pianist in the Pittsburgh area. He previously served on the artistic staff of the Elgin Youth Symphony as Philharmonia Conductor and Chamber Music Institute Director, and as Conductor-in-Residence at Beloit College.
A native of Clovis, New Mexico, Anderson holds piano degrees from Baylor University (BM, summa cum laude and MM, with distinction) studying under internationally renowned artist and teacher Krassimira Jordan. After beginning conducting studies under the guidance of Stephen Heyde at Baylor, he went on to earn a degree in orchestral conducting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under the tutelage of Donald Schleicher. He was awarded the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship for the 2006-07 academic year, which funded travel throughout the country to study with master conducting teachers. In 2006, David was a finalist for the Conductors Guild’s prestigious Thelma A. Robinson award.
Anderson has collaborated with soloists Midori, Rachel Barton Pine, Frank Almond, Christopher Martin, Brandon Ridenour, Brant Taylor, Rong-Yan Tang, Li-Kuo Chang, Matthew Treviño, Krassimira Jordan, Timothy Ehlen, and the Chicago cast of the Jersey Boys. He is an active clinician and adjudicator, having conducted numerous honors orchestras at the secondary level. Anderson received additional instruction through active participation at workshops under the guidance of Larry Rachleff, Gustav Meier, Leonard Slatkin, Giancarlo Guerrero, Kenneth Kiesler, Victor Yampolsky, David Hoose, Christopher Zimmerman, Kenneth Woods, Emily Freeman Brown, and Peter Bay.