Since 2013 Lawrence Foster has held the position of Music Director of l'Opéra de Marseille and l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille. He has been appointed Conductor Laureate of the Gulbenkian Orchestra following his ten-year tenure as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor. This season Foster and the orchestra completed on a highly successful tour to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Further highlights of the 2016/17 season include engagements as guest conductor with NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Hungarian National Philharmonic, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra of Katowice, Belgium National Orchestra and the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin. In Asia he will return to Shanghai and Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Beside his concert engagements, Foster is an accomplished opera conductor and has conducted in major opera houses throughout the world. This season sees opera productions of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at the Welsh National Opera with guest appearances in Dubai as well as Thomas’ Hamlet and Verdi’s Don Carlos at the l'Opéra de Marseille.
His discography includes a number of recordings for PentaTone Classics, notably a highly acclaimed CD of Strauss’ Zigeunerbaron with NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover and a CD with violin works by Bruch, Chausson and Korngold with Arabella Steinbacher among others.
Foster previously held Music Directorships with the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and the Aspen Music Festival and School.
In 2013 he was awarded L'Orfée d'Or from L'Académie National du Disque Lyrique for his recording of Vincent D’Indy’s L’Etranger with Opera et Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon.