David Lasky

Professional Biographical Information on David Lasky

Email: davelasky@msn.com

David Lasky (b. 1957) earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music History and Literature at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in 1979, and earned his Master of Music degree in Organ Performance, also at UMASS/Lowell, in 1981. In 2005, he earned his Master of Arts degree in Church Music and Liturgy from the Rensselaer Program of Church Music and Liturgy at St. Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, Indiana.

From 1972 to 1980, Mr. Lasky was Organist at Holy Spirit Church in Gardner, Massachusetts, and from 1980 to 1981, he served as Organist and Director of Music at St. John’s Church and School in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Since 1981, Mr. Lasky has been Organist and Director of Music at St. Cecilia’s Church in Leominster, Massachusetts, and resides in Hartland, Vermont with his fiance, Pamela Kozlowski Lasky and their beloved cats, Chloe, Puzzle, and Leo. The heartbeat of their home is their dog, Shelby, whom they love beyond measure.

As an organist, Mr. Lasky has performed as soloist and in ensemble throughout Massachusetts, and has performed recitals at the Washington National Cathedral, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and St. Mary’s Cathedral in Lafayette, Indiana. He has taught classes and workshops on improvisation and service playing for the American Guild of Organists and for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.

In addition, David Lasky is very active as a composer and arranger of sacred organ and choral music, having, to date, thirty-nine collections of organ music in print. Currently, he has approximately 375 pieces of music published by Warner Brother Publications; Randall M. Egan, Publisher of Music, Ltd.; Augsburg Fortress Publications; The Sacred Music Press; and Wayne Leupold Editions. Forthcoming music will be published by CanticaNOVA Publications and Adoro Music Publishing.

His music, which is widely performed in churches throughout the United States, Canada, and England, has been favorably reviewed in the professional organist journals "The American Organist" and "The Diapason", as well as in the British journal, "Church Music Quarterly" and in the American worship magazine, "Creator."

In 1992, Mr. Lasky won a national hymn tune-writing competition, sponsored by the Lutheran Home for the Aged in Arlington Heights, Illinois. In 1994, he was commissioned to compose a concert work, Variations on “Austria”, for the renowned organist and long-time head of the organ department at The University of Michigan, Marilyn Mason. He has also accepted commissions from Worcester (Massachusetts) State College; Christ Church (Fitchburg, Massachusetts); St. John’s Episcopal Church (Charlotte, South Carolina); the Tappan Zee Bridgemen Brass Ensemble (New York City); Jane Errera (St. Anne’s Church, Bethlehem, PA); King’s College (Wilkes-Barre, PA); the M.I.T. Concert Band; the Market Street Presbyterian Church (Lima, Ohio); and David Tierney for the Rivers School Conservatory in Weston, Massachusetts. In 2010, he was one of eleven winners in a composition competition co-sponsored by Region IV of the American Guild of Organists and Wayne Leupold Editions. Most recently, he was commissioned by the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists to compose a piece for the 2014 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists.

From 1985 to 2005, Mr. Lasky served as a classical music reviewer for "The Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette", and has written CD and composition reviews for "The New England Organist."

Mr. Lasky has taught as an adjunct professor at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts (1989-1990), and has taught in the Music Theory department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1991-1992).