The internationally acclaimed violist Lawrence Power is widely recognized for the richness of his sound, his technical mastery, and his passionate advocacy for contemporary music. Lawrence has championed the cause of the viola through the excellence of his performances, not only in recitals, chamber music, or concerts with orchestra, but also through the creation of the Viola Commissioning Circle (VCC), which has led to a significant new repertoire for the instrument by some of today’s leading composers. Lawrence has premiered viola concertos by renowned composers such as James MacMillan, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Julian Anderson, and Alexander Goehr, and through the VCC has commissioned works from Anders Hillborg, Thomas Adès, Gerald Barry, Cassandra Miller, and Magnus Lindberg.
During the 2024/25 season, Lawrence will be Artist in Residence at the Southbank Centre. His residency begins with a recital alongside Thomas Adès that will include works by Adès, Britten, Dowland, Stravinsky, and Berio, and will also feature the participation of a percussionist and the renowned dancer and choreographer Jonathan Goddard. Other notable performances will include the UK premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen; a Lock-in style evening with live performance and film screening; and a new project commissioned from the creative studio Âme.
In other engagements of the season, Lawrence will give the German, American, and Austrian premieres of Lindberg’s Viola Concerto, with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester (conducted by Alan Gilbert), the St. Louis Symphony (Hannu Lintu), and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg (Aivis Greters). Other highlights include his performances with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin (Ivan Fischer), the Orchestre National de Belgique (Antony Hermus), and his return to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for the Scottish premiere of Anders Hillborg’s Viola Concerto, conducted by Andrew Manze.
Over the past decade, Lawrence has established himself as a regular guest with top-tier orchestras, such as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Bayerischer Rundfunk, and the philharmonics of Stockholm, Bergen, and Warsaw, in addition to the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, BBC Symphony, Philharmonia, BBC Scottish Symphony, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of conductors such as Osmo Vänskä, Lahav Shani, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Andrew Manze, Edward Gardner, Nicholas Collon, Ilan Volkov, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Lawrence directs from the violin or viola in projects with orchestras, most recently at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Scottish Ensemble, the Australian National Academy of Music, and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. He also conducts his own orchestra, Collegium, composed of highly talented young musicians from all over Europe. He is a faculty member at the Hochschule der Kunst in Zurich and offers master classes around the world, including the Verbier Festival.
As a chamber musician, he is in great demand and performs regularly at festivals such as Verbier, Salzburg, Aspen, and Oslo, among others, alongside artists such as Steven Isserlis, Nicolas Altstaedt, Simon Crawford-Phillips, Vilde Frang, Maxim Vengerov, and Joshua Bell. In 2021 he was appointed Associate Artist of Wigmore Hall, a five-year position, with the obligation to offer at least one performance per season.
From the academic year 2025-2026, he is Professor of the BBVA Foundation Viola Chair at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid.