Sept. 26 concert to celebrate life, work of Cambridge cellist Laurence Lesser

Laurence Lesser, the legendary cellist, passionate teacher and president emeritus of New England Conservatory, celebrates his 80th birthday this year, as well as the start of his 45th year embedded in the musical life of the prestigious music college.

A Sept. 26 concert will be held in his honor where Lesser will appear as a soloist with the NEC Philharmonia under the baton of conductor Hugh Wolff.

A native of Los Angeles, Lesser was a top prizewinner in the internationally-renowned Tchaikovsky Competition in 1966 and a participant in the historic Heifetz-Piatigorsky concerts and recordings. A graduate of Harvard College, where he studied mathematics, he continued his cello studies with such luminaries as Gaspar Cassadó and Pablo Casals in Europe and, after returning to the United States, with Gregor Piatigorsky at the University of Southern California. While in LA, he recorded Hollywood soundtracks for the films "Rosemary’s Baby" and "Finian’s Rainbow," as well as under the baton of Igor Stravinsky.

Lesser has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic and other major orchestras. As a chamber musician he has participated at the Casals, Marlboro, Spoleto, Ravinia, Music@Menlo and Santa Fe festivals. He has also been a member of juries for numerous international competitions, including chairing the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1994. His recording highlights include Beethoven’s Complete Music for Cello and Piano with pianist HaeSun Paik and a recording of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites which includes Lesser’s new edition of the Fifth Cello Suite.

In 1974, Lesser was asked by then-president of New England Conservatory Gunther Schuller to lead the cello department, after serving on the faculty of Peabody Institute for four years. He moved back to Cambridge, where he has resided ever since. Shortly after beginning his career at NEC, he was named artistic director of the conservatory, and, several years later in 1983, he accepted the position of president with great enthusiasm.

“NEC is a remarkable place because people work together so well here,” Lesser says. “The spirit of NEC is based upon inclusion of everyone, and the strength of the school is its sense of community. I always felt like the wisdom of NEC was not mine alone, but stemmed from the broad community of faculty and students. It was my passion as President to help that continue.”

A high point during his tenure as NEC president was the complete restoration of one of the world's greatest acoustical spaces, the 1,000-seat Jordan Hall, which The New York Times called “a triumph.” 

“The restoration of Jordan Hall is one of my highlights at NEC,” Lesser reflects. “I remember at one point Jordan Hall was full of scaffolding that went all the way up to the ceiling. A few times I was able to climb the ladders and touch the ceiling of Jordan Hall. It was an experience like nothing else.”

Lesser served as president of NEC from 1983-1996, during which time he continued teaching cello, as well as curating the “First Monday at Jordan Hall” series which is going on 34 years. Lesser has taught generations of musicians who have become soloists, orchestra section leaders and members, and chamber musicians who teach and perform around the world.

Reflecting on teaching, Lesser muses, “The thing that’s so amazing about teaching is that you’re learning, too. There’s a wonderful dialogue with young artists that continues to feed me. When I see how these young people learn and adapt, it enables me to continue to grow as well.”

New England Conservatory is celebrating Laurence Lesser with a concert on Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Jordan Hall. For more information, visit http://necmusic.edu/concerts