Tomasz Golka

Tomasz Golka (born October 14, 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]

Tomasz Golka

Career

Golka was born in Warsaw, Poland.[2] In 1980, his family emigrated to Veracruz, Mexico, where his father won a position as a trombonist in the Orquesta Sinfónica de Veracruz. At age 4, Golka began studying the violin with members of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Veracruz. In 1982, his family moved to Houston, Texas, where he later attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He subsequently continued his violin studies with Kenneth Goldsmith and later Sergiu Luca at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, and took US citizenship in 1996.[3] After completing his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Violin Performance, he studied conducting with David Effron at Indiana University and later Gustav Meier at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.[4]

In 2003, Golka won first prize at the Eduardo Mata International Conducting Competition in Mexico City.[5][6][7]

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.[8]

In 2006, Golka was a conducting fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival.[9] 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.[10]

From 2007 to 2012, Golka was music director of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra.[11][12] With the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Golka conducted the world premieres of works by Shafer Mahoney, Jude Vaclavik, and Mathew Fuerst as well as the American premiere of Mieczysław Karłowicz's A Sorrowful Tale.

From 2008 to 2010, Golka was music director of the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra.[13] 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.[14] With the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, he gave several world premieres, including the Colombian premiere of Thomas Adès's Asyla.[15]

Golka received a certificate in film scoring from UCLA Extension, where he was the recipient of the BMI/Jerry Goldsmith Scholarship.[16] Golka composed the score for The Dare (2018), a short film starring actress Charis Michelsen, as well as Shaking Cup (2019), directed by Arkee Linden.

On 1 September 2014, Golka married Anna Kostyuchek, associate concertmaster of the Riverside Philharmonic. The couple reside in Los Angeles, California.[17]

List of works
  • 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)
  • An Animated Adventure for orchestra (2016)
  • Festivus, Festivus for voice and piano (2015) (version for voice and orchestra, 2016)
  • Ukrainian Christmas Overture for orchestra (2016)
  • Variations on "The Battle Cry of Freedom" for orchestra (2017)
  • Felix in Hollywood (a symphonic score to accompany the 1923 cartoon) for orchestra (2018)
  • Garryowen Variations for orchestra (2018)
  • True Green for piano and any other instrument (2018) (version for 13 players, 2020)
  • Orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (2019)
  • Wilbur, the Waltzing Pig for contrabassoon and orchestra (2020)
  • Afikoman for clarinet and piano (2021)

Discography

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