Lawrence Cherney

Lawrence Cherney started his career under the baton of Igor Stravinsky. Ever since, for more than 40 years, he has been at the forefront of Canadian music. He is the founding artistic director of Soundstreams, a charter member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra and founding artistic director of the summer festival, Music at Sharon.

Under his leadership, Soundstreams has become one of the largest and most dynamic organizations of its kind in the world and a leading producer of concerts, contemporary oper, and international festivals. Known for the high quality of its innovative national and international collaborations that cross genres, cultural traditions and disciplines, Soundstreams hosts an annual concert series in Toronto, produces new Canadian opera and tours Canadian music and opera in Canada and internationally. It co-produces an outreach series, Salon 21, with the Gardiner Museum and has developed a state-of-the-art web platform that includes a digital concert hall and archive.

Cherney has performed as an oboe soloist and recitalist in North America, Europe and Israel. He was named to the Order of Canada in 2003, awarded the Toronto Arts’ Foundation’s Award for Outstanding International Achievement in 2007, and in 2012, the Friends of Canadian Music Award, awarded jointly by the Canadian Music Centre and the Canadian League of Composers.