Raymond Douglas Lawrence (born 1943) is an Australian organist who is director of music at the

Scots' Church, Melbourne The Scots' Church is a Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the first Presbyterian church to be built in the Port Phillip District (now the state of Victoria) and is located on Collins Street. It is a congregation of the ...

and Teacher of the Organ at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

. In 1969 Lawrence completed his master's degree in music at the

. He then studied for two years at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

(Vienna Musikhochschule) between 1969 and 1971, under the tutelage of renowned Austrian organist Anton Heiller. He founded and directs the Australian Baroque Ensemble and th
Australian Chamber Choir
He also founded the Choir of Ormond College. In 1992 he was awarded a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for services to music. In the

2020 Australia Day Honours The 2020 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2020 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australia ...

Lawrence was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

for "significant service to the performing arts, particularly to chamber choirs". He frequently performs as a soloist for major music organisations within Australia and his concert career has taken him throughout most of the world. Amongst several inaugurals, Lawrence played the first concert (1979) on the organ of the Sydney Opera House and Melba Hall at the

and gave the first solo recital on the organ in the Melbourne Concert Hall. Lawrence has released a number of recordings including ''The Best of Pachelbel'', ''Buxtehude'', ''A Baroque Collection'' and ''Reverberations 1'' and ''Reverberations 2''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Douglas Australian classical organists Male classical organists 1943 births Living people Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian music educators Academic staff of the University of Melbourne 21st-century organists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians