Graham Lord

Originally from Maple Ridge, BC, Graham Lord is principal clarinet of London Symphonia, after being appointed to that position as a member of Orchestra London in 2008. He has frequently appeared as a soloist with the ensemble, most notably in works by Mozart, Copland, Brahms, and Martin. In addition to his work in London, Graham has performed with the symphony orchestras of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, and Thunder Bay.

Graham received his BMus in 2004 from the University of British Columbia, where he studied with Wes Foster, then obtained his Master’s degree in orchestral performance from McGill University in 2007, where his teacher was Robert Crowley. During his final year, he was a first-prize winner of the CBC/McGill competition. His concerto performance was hailed as a “triumph” by the Montreal Gazette, citing his “formidable technical command” and describing his sound as “bright, direct and perfectly suited to Copland.”

Graham is an alumnus of both the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the Hamilton-based National Academy Orchestra. He toured across the country twice with NYOC (2005-06), garnering critical acclaim for his performance in Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite. Since his summers as an NAO apprentice (2007-08), he has returned to play with the orchestra in a mentoring capacity. In 2010, Graham received a fellowship to attend Norfolk, Yale University’s summer chamber music festival, where he had the privilege of playing alongside and being coached by such artists as David Shifrin, Richard Stoltzman, and members of the Tokyo String Quartet.

During his summers, Graham joins members of the Toronto-based Aradia Ensemble to form the orchestra for the COSI opera festival in Sulmona, Italy. In 2013, he was featured as a soloist and chamber musician at the Scotiabank Northern Lights festival in Ajijic, Mexico. Locally, Graham has performed with the Light of East Ensemble, a band dedicated to classical and folk music of the Mediterranean and Middle East, and has also been featured with the London Community Orchestra as a soloist.