Grant Gershon (born November 10, 1960) is a Grammy Award winning American conductor and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. He is Artistic Director of the

Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the t ...

, Resident Conductor of the Los Angeles Opera, member of the Board of Councillors for the

USC Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...

and a member of the Chorus America Board of Directors.

Biography

Personal history

Gershon was born in

Norwalk, California Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 105,549 at the 2010 census and an estimated 103,949 in 2019. It is the 58th most densely-populated city in California. Founded in the late 19th century, Nor ...

, and grew up in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11 ...

. His mother was a piano teacher, and he began music lessons at 5 years old. After graduating from Alhambra High School, he entered

Chapman College Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scien ...

in Orange, California as a double major in piano and voice; he later transferred to the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

where he majored in piano. He eventually graduated ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1985. Gershon is married to soprano Elissa Johnston.

Professional career

Gershon has appeared as guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

, the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera,

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby, oversaw the building of the first opera house on a newl ...

Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as the Center Opera Company in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as ''Where the Wild Things Are'' by Oliver ...

, Royal Swedish Opera,

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

Opera Theatre,

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is a full-time professional chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In collaboration with five Artistic Partners, the orchestra's musicians present more than 130 concerts and educational programs ea ...

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. History James Arkatov, a ...

, the Gustav Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Finnish Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, among others. He has led performances at many of the world's most prestigious festivals, including the Ravinia, Edinburgh, Vienna, Aspen, Ojai and Helsinki festivals as well as the Roma-Europa Festival and the Festival Otonno in Madrid. He served as Assistant Conductor / Principal Pianist with Los Angeles Opera from 1988 to 1994, where he participated in over 40 productions and garnered a reputation as one of the country's exceptional vocal coaches. He was named Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...

in 1994, a position he held until 1997. Early in his career he served as Assistant Conductor at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

, the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

and the

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental ...

, working with conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen, Daniel Barenboim and

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

. He has served as pianist for many artists on recording and in recital, including Kiri Te Kanawa,

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conduct ...

, Rod Gilfry and

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

. In May 2000, Gershon was named Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale effective Fall 2001, taking over for

Paul Salamunovich Paul Salamunovich KCSG (June 7, 1927April 3, 2014) was a Grammy-nominated, American conductor and educator. He was the Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1991 to 2001 and its Music Director Emeritus from 2001 until his death in ...

who was retiring. He is only the fourth conductor to hold that title. During this time, he has conducted over 200 performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and has led the chorus in a number of world premieres, including: * ''Iri da Iri'' by

* "the national anthems" by David Lang * ''Inscapes'' by Swan Family Composer-in-Residence Shawn Kirchner * ''You Are'' (Variations) by Steve Reich * ''Requiem'' by Christopher Rouse * ''The City of Dis'' by

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

* "Los cantores de las montañas" (The Singing Mountaineers) by

Gabriela Lena Frank Gabriela Lena Frank (born Berkeley, California, United States, September 1972) is an American pianist and composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Gabriela Lena Frank's father is an American of Lithuanian Jewish heritage and her mothe ...

* ''Plath Songs'' by Shawn Kirchner * ''A Map of Los Angeles'' by David O * ''SANG'' by

Eve Beglarian Eve Beglarian (born Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S., July 22, 1958) is a contemporary American composer, performer and audio producer of Armenian descent. Her music is often characterized as postminimalist.Woodard, Josef"A Bird’s Eye, a Wonderer’s ...

* ''Messages and Brief Eternity'' by

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

and Roger Treece, lyrics by Don Rosler * ''Broken Charms'' by Donald Crockett * ''Rezos'' (Prayers) by

Tania León Tania León (born May 14, 1943) is a Cuban-born American composer of both large scale and chamber works. She is also renowned as a conductor, educator, and advisor to arts organizations. Early years and education She was born Tania Justina Leó ...

* ''Mother's Lament'' by Sharon Farber * ''The Salvage Men'' by

Jeff Beal Jeff Beal (born June 20, 1963) is an American composer of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal creates music that often incorporates a synthesis of im ...

* ''Mangá Pakalagián (Ceremonies)'' by

Nilo Alcala Nilo Alcala is a Filipino-American composer and 2019 The American Prize Winner in Composition. He is the first Philippine-born composer to be commissioned by Grammy winner Los Angeles Master Chorale, and also to receive the Aaron Copland House Re ...

* ''Ave Maria/Scarborough Fair'' by

Paul Chihara Paul Seiko Chihara (born July 9, 1938) is an American composer. Life and career Chihara was born in Seattle, Washington in 1938. A Japanese American, he spent three years of his childhood with his family in an internment camp in Minidoka, Idah ...

* ''In the Desert With You'' by Moira Smiley He led the U.S. premiere of ''Two Songs to Poems of Ann Jäderlund'' by Esa-Pekka Salonen with the Master Chorale, along with other U.S. premieres of works by composers

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

Tarik O'Regan Tarik Hamilton O'Regan (; born 1 January 1978) is a British and American composer. His compositions number over 100 and are partially represented on 43 recordings which have been recognised with two Grammy nominations. He is also the recipien ...

, Sofia Gubaidulina and

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a British composer of classical music. Biography Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. He began composing at age nine and at fourteen began studying at the junior section of the Royal College of ...

. Beyond his work with the Master Chorale, he has also championed new music. He conducted the world premiere of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

opera '' Girls of the Golden West'' and Adams' opera/theatre piece, ''

I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky ''I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky'' is a 1995 "song play" with music composed by John Adams and a libretto by June Jordan. Summary The story takes place in the aftermath of the 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles, and covers the r ...

'', directed by

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...

. He and pianist

Gloria Cheng Gloria Cheng is an American pianist who won a Grammy Award for her 2008 Piano Music of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Steven Stucky, and Witold Lutosławski, and a nomination for The Edge of Light: Messiaen/Saariaho. Her film, "Montage: Great Film Composers an ...

premiered '' Hallelujah Junction'', a piano-duo piece written for them by John Adams. In February 2007, he conducted the world premiere of

Ricky Ian Gordon Ricky Ian Gordon (born May 15, 1956) is an American composer of art song, opera and musical theatre. Life Gordon was born in Oceanside, New York. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam, and he grew up on Long Island with his three sist ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...

'' with

, along with following performances with

Utah Opera The Utah Opera is an American opera company that has been merged with Utah Symphony since July 2002, with a combined audience of more than 150,000 annually. History In 1978, the Utah Opera company presented its first production of Puccini's '' ...

. In 2010, Gershon led the world premiere performances of ''

Il Postino ''Il Postino: The Postman'' ( it, Il postino, lit, 'The Postman'; the title used for the original US release) is a 1994 comedy-drama film co-written by and starring Massimo Troisi and directed by English filmmaker Michael Radford. Based on th ...

'' by

Daniel Catán Daniel Catán Porteny (April 3, 1949 – April 9, 2011) was a Mexican composer, writer and professor known particularly for his operas and his contribution of the Spanish language to the international repertory. With a compositional style ...

, featuring

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

as the poet Pablo Neruda. On May 21, 2007, the Los Angeles Opera and

issued a joint press release. In it, they announced that Gershon would be extending his contract with the Master Chorale through the 2010/2011 season, and that he was being named Associate Conductor/Chorus Master of Los Angeles Opera. In the press release,

called Gershon, "an exceptional musician whose broad musical interests, technical mastery and impressive experience will be a huge asset to LA Opera". In this position at LA Opera Gershon has conducted over 50 performances including '' La traviata'', '' Madama Butterfly'', '' Carmen'', Philip Glass's '' Satyagraha'', Handel's ''

L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato ("The Cheerful, the Thoughtful, and the Moderate Man"), HWV 55, is a pastoral ode by George Frideric Handel based on the poetry of John Milton. History Handel composed the work over the period of 19 January to 4 February 1740,Michael O'Connel ...

'' in Mark Morris's production, and the previously cited ''Il Postino''. On May 18, 2014, the

issued a press release, in which they announced that Gershon would be extending his contract with the Master Chorale through the 2019/2020 season. With this renewal, Gershon's title will change to Artistic Director, which reflects his desire to "redefine the choral experience". With this expanded role, Gershon will create an "immersive" concert experience by incorporating lighting, staging, video, movement, and attire into the production. The Chorale will seek to engage new audiences by presenting more concerts at venues outside of Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

Recordings

Gershon has made seven recordings with the

: * ''Itaipú'' by Philip Glass and ''Two Songs to Poems of Ann Jäderlund'' by

(RCM 12004) * ''You Are'' (Variations) by Steve Reich (Nonesuch) * ''Daniel Variations'' by Steve Reich (Nonesuch) * ''A Good Understanding'' by

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...

(Decca) * '' Miserere'' by

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

(Decca) * ''the national anthems by David Lang (Cantaloupe) * ''A Festival of Carols'' Gershon has conducted two DVD releases with LA Opera featuring

* ''

'' by

* ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Pucci ...

'' by

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

He has also served as chorus master on the Grammy Award winning recording of John Corigliano's

The Ghosts of Versailles ''The Ghosts of Versailles'' is an opera in two acts, with music by John Corigliano to an English libretto by William M. Hoffman. The Metropolitan Opera had commissioned the work from Corigliano in 1980 in celebration of its 100th anniversary, ...

with LA Opera.

Awards and recognition

* In 2022, Gershon received the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance. * Also in 2022, he received the Michael Korn Award—Chorus America’s highest honor * In 2017, the Los Angeles Master Chorale was inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame * In 2015, Gershon received the Louis Botto Award for Entrepreneurial Zeal and Innovative Action from Chorus America * In 2012, under Gershon's direction the

received the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America. * Gershon was honored with the WQXR Gramophone America Award for 2006 for his recording of Reich's ''You Are'' (Variations). In addition, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and '' Newsday'', among others, selected it as one of the top ten classical recordings of 2005. * He was named

Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in May 2002

References

External links

Bio (short version) – Los Angeles Master Chorale website

Bio (long version) – Los Angeles Master Chorale website

* ttps://archive.today/20130127105947/http://www.laphil.com/music/artist_detail.cfm?id=450 Bio on Los Angeles Philharmonic website {{DEFAULTSORT:Gershon, Grant American choral conductors American male conductors (music) Chapman University alumni USC Thornton School of Music alumni Living people 1960 births People from Norwalk, California People from Alhambra, California Musicians from Los Angeles USC Thornton School of Music faculty 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American pianists Classical musicians from California 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians