Don't miss the Hotchkiss Philharmonic concert, Celebrating American Music and Musicians, on Saturday, February 17, 7:30 p.m. in the Katherine M. Elfers Hall of the Esther Eastman Music Center at The Hotchkiss School, 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville CT. This special evening will feature guest artists Brandon Patrick George, flute, and Lawrence Golan, conductor, and the Hotchkiss Philharmonic Chorus, performing Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G Major, Copland’s At the River, Promised Land, The Little Horses, and Zion's Walls, and John Williams’ Marion’s Theme & Raider’s March from Indiana Jones. The concert is free and open to the public; no ticket reservations are necessary. Seating is first come, first served.

Brandon Patrick George, flute

Brandon Patrick George, hailed as a “knockout musician with a gorgeous sound” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, is a leading flute soloist and Grammy®-nominated chamber musician whose repertoire extends from the Baroque era to today. He is the flutist of Imani Winds and has appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta, Baltimore, and Albany symphonies, American Composers Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others.  

Brandon has performed at the Elbphilharmonie, the Kennedy Center, the Dresden Music Festival, and the Prague Spring Festival. In addition to his work with Imani Winds, Brandon’s solo performances include appearances at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 92nd Street Y, Tippet Rise, and Maverick Concerts. In 2021, Brandon was part of the inaugural class of WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab, a program designed to advance the careers of early and mid-career artists and support the future of classical music.  

In September 2023, Brandon's latest album, Twofold, was released on In a Circle Records. Twofold follows the success of Brandon Patrick George’s debut solo album, released in 2020 on Haenssler Classics. George was featured in The New York Times around the album’s release, in an article titled “A Flutist Steps into the Spotlight,” which described the album as “a program that showcases the flute in all its wit, warmth and brilliance."

Raised by a single mother in Dayton, OH, Brandon is the proud product of public arts education. He draws on his personal experiences in his commitment to educating the next generation, performing countless outreach concerts for school children every year, and mentoring young conservatory musicians of color embarking on performance careers. Brandon trained at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Conservatoire de Paris, and the Manhattan School of Music. He serves on the faculty of the Curtis Institute and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Lawrence Golan, conductor

Vibrant, inspired performances, imaginative programming, and an evocative command of different styles and composers are the hallmarks of American conductor Lawrence Golan. Principal Guest Conductor of Germany’s Bayerische Philharmonie, and Music Director of Washington state’s Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Pennsylvania’s York Symphony Orchestra, and Colorado’s Denver Philharmonic, he is also conductor of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre at the University of Denver. A dynamic, charismatic communicator and popular collaborator, he has conducted throughout the United States and in Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, El Salvador, England, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, and continues to develop relationships with orchestras nationally and abroad.

An award-winning recording artist, Mr. Golan has made several recordings, both as conductor and as a violinist for labels such as Albany Records and Centaur Records. Golan is a respected author/composer/arranger, with works published by Notation Central, Globe Edit, Spurwink River Publishing, Mel Bay Publications and LudwigMasters. A staunch advocate for music education, Lawrence Golan is also Director of Orchestral Studies and head of the graduate conducting program at the University of Denver.

A native of Chicago, Lawrence Golan received his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Master of Music in Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting from the Indiana University School of Music and his D.M.A. in Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In 1999 he was awarded Tanglewood Music Center’s Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship, and in 2002, Aspen Music Festival’s Conducting Fellowship.

The Hotchkiss Philharmonic

The Hotchkiss Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 2018 through the generosity of Barbara Walsh Hostetter '77 and her husband, Amos. The orchestra combines a group of outstanding professional musicians with talented Hotchkiss music students, giving those students the unique opportunity to work and perform alongside world-class artists. Offering free admission to all of its concerts, the orchestra is thrilled to invite the community to its breathtaking concert venue, Katherine M. Elfers Hall, for these exciting symphonic music performances.