Tomasz Golka

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

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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

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  • 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

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References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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)
  3. ^ "Immigrant Father and Son: First-Year Graduate Students" (Press release). Rice University. 1996-10-25. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  4. ^ Our Music Director. Riverside, California: Riverside County Philharmonic. Archived 1 October 2011.
  5. ^ Terry Rindfleisch (2009-01-29). "Symphony Names Six Conductor Finalists". La Crosse Tribune. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  6. ^ Espinosa, Pablo. "Recupera vigencia el proyecto educativo-musical de Eduardo Mata", La Jornada, September 9, 2003. Retrieved on November 27, 2015.
  7. ^ Sevilla, María Eugenia. "Gana director polaco Premio Eduardo Mata", Reforma, September 9, 2003. Retrieved on November 27, 2015.
  8. ^ Jarosław Gołembiowski (2003-10-12). "Triumf polskiego dyrygenta". Monitor Chicago. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  9. ^ History of Ball State Symphony Orchestra
  10. ^ Dyer, Richard. "Despite kinks in its debut, TMC Orchestra shows promise", The Boston Globe, July 5, 2006. Retrieved on November 27, 2015.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ William Kerns (2012-05-04). "Golka plans classical spectacle for final Lubbock concerts". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  14. ^ Jaime Zublick (2008-05-30). "Work ethic key in settling search". Williamsport Sun Gazette. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  15. ^ Daniel Grajales (2014-02-23). "Golka, nuevo director de la Sinfónica Nacional". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  16. ^ "Me la jugaré por la música colombiana", "Semana", May 25, 2014. Retrieved on November 27, 2015.
  17. ^ "UCLA Extension Student Tomasz Golka Awarded 2017 BMI/Jerry Goldsmith Film Scoring Scholarship".
  18. ^ Sherli Leonard (2014-11-19). "Riverside: A symphonic love story". The Press Enterprise. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  19. ^ "Tanglewood 75 – from the audio archives: Day 26", Tanglewood Music Center, July 25, 2006.