Conductor Marlan Carlson

Dr. Marlan Carlson’s love for performing and conducting music is outshone only by his passion for mentoring young talent. As a professor of music at Oregon State University and as music director of the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra, he has ample opportunity to teach and empower students to reach their full potential—not just musically but in their family, work, and community. He takes great pleasure in inspiring students to experience the joys of leadership.

Dr. Carlson earned his Doctor of Musical Arts and the Artist’s Diploma from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, New York, and has been both a Fulbright Scholar and a Danforth Fellow. He performed as principal violist in the Heidelberg Staedtisches Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra. From 1988-90 Carlson was resident director of the Oregon Study Abroad Center in Stuttgart, Germany, during which he conducted the Hohenheim Wind Ensemble and played in the Stuttgart Bach Orchestra.

At OSU, Dr. Carlson was chair of the Music Department for 17 years, as well as serving as resident director of study abroad programs in London, England; Cologne, Germany; Siena, Italy; Angers, France; and Vienna, Austria. In 2000, he was presented with the International Service Award by OSU and the Excellence Award by the College of Liberal Arts Advisory Council. Following highly acclaimed concerts in 2001 in Zhengzhou, China, Maestro Carlson returned several times over the ensuing ten years to conduct professional orchestras in other cities, including Shanghai and Tianjin.

In June 2007, Dr. Carlson conducted the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia at the studios of Radio Moscow in the recording of a CD featuring three RussianAmerican pianists. The CD was released by classicalrecords.ru and features concerti of Glazunov, Scriabin, and Tchaikovsky.