March Roars Like a Lion as the Pasadena Symphony Takes on Mahler’s Epic Titan Symphony

Over the past thirty years, David Lockington has developed an impressive conducting career in the United States. A native of Great Britain, he served as the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony from January 1999 to May 2015, and is currently the orchestra’s Conductor Laureate. He has held the position of Music Director with the Modesto Symphony since May 2007 and in March 2013, Mr. Lockington was appointed Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony. He has a close relationship with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Spain, where he was the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor from 2012 through 2016, and in the 15/16 season was named one of three Artistic Partners with the Northwest Sinfonietta in Tacoma, Washington.

In addition to his current posts, since his arrival to the United States in 1978 Mr. Lockington has held positions with several other American orchestras, including serving as Assistant Conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Opera Colorado, and Assistant and Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In May 1993 he accepted the position of Music Director of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, assumed the title of Music Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in September 1995 and was Music Director of the Long Island Philharmonic for the 96/97 through 99/2000 seasons.

Mr. Lockington’s guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Saint Louis, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Oregon and Phoenix symphonies; the Rochester and Louisiana Philharmonics; and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall. Internationally, he has conducted the Northern Sinfonia in Great Britain, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra in Beijing and Taiwan,and led the English Chamber Orchestra on a tour in Asia.

Recent and upcoming guest conducting engagements include appearances with the New Jersey, Indianapolis, Utah, Pacific, Colorado, Nashville, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Stamford, Tucson and Kansas City symphonies, the Florida and Louisville Orchestras, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and the Buffalo, Calgary and Oklahoma Philharmonics. Mr. Lockington’s summer festival activities include appearances at the Grand Teton, Colorado Music, Interlochen, Chautauqua and Eastern Music festivals.

David Lockington began his career as a cellist and was the Principal with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Cambridge where he was a choral scholar, Mr. Lockington came to the United States on a scholarship to Yale University where he received his Master’s Degree in cello performance and studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and served as assistant principal cellist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra for three years before turning to conducting.

A native of Turin, Italy, he plays with “a maturity and awareness that usually develops at a later age” (L’Eco di Bergamo) and has appeared in major concert halls from Los Angeles to China.
Mr. Leone made his orchestral debut in 2013 performing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento (Italy). The following year he returned to the Haydn Orchestra to perform Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on tour with conductor Francesco Angelico. In 2014, Mr. Leone made his North American debut performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Toronto Concert Orchestra and in 2016 made his Los Angeles debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Colburn Orchestra and conductor Stéphane Denève. Mr. Leone is a frequent chamber music and recital partner of cellist, Lynn Harrell, a fellow Los Angeles resident.

Mr. Leone has performed extensively throughout Europe, North America and China. These performances include debuts in venues including: the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria; Steinway Hall in London, U.K.; the Music Hall of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China; Politeama Theatre in Palermo, Italy; the Mozart Concert Hall of Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna, Italy; the BASF Gesellschaftshaus in Ludwigshafen, Germany; and the Koerner Hall in Toronto, Canada. His performances have been broadcast live from Vienna, Austria, on Radio Ö1, Berlin, Germany, on Deutschlandradio Kultur and from Bolzano, Italy, on Radio Rai and RaiTRE TV.

A top-prize winner of several major piano competitions, Mr. Leone was awarded second prize at the 2014 Toronto International Piano Competition and second prize at the 2013 Busoni International Piano Competition (first prize was not awarded).
Mr. Leone has been awarded a Masters of Music from the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California, where he continues to study with Fabio Bidini. He previously studied at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin, Germany and at the G.Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, Italy.