Michael Lamkin, vice president of academic affairs and interim dean of faculty at Scripps College, will retire on June 30, 2010 after more than 25 years of service to the College. There will be a reception at Scripps College in Lamkin’s honor on May 6, 2010 from 5:30 – 6:30pm in the Pattison Courtyard, Scripps College Performance Arts Center.
Lamkin, who is the conductor of the Claremont Concert Orchestra and the Bessie and Cecil Frankel Professor of Music, came to Scripps College as professor of music in 1977. From 1997 – 2007 Lamkin served as vice president and dean of faculty at Scripps College. He returned to that post as interim vice president and dean of faculty for the 2009 – 2010 academic year. On March 30, 2010, Scripps College announced that professor of psychology, Amy Marcus-Newhall, would replace Lamkin after his interim term ended on June 30, 2010.
Lamkin founded and conducted the Claremont Chamber Orchestra in 1979. In 1996, the orchestra had grown so significantly that the name was changed to the Claremont Concert Orchestra as it remains today. On Sunday, May 2, 2010, Lamkin conducted his final performance with the Orchestra at Garrison Theater in the Scripps College Performing Arts Center. Lamkin also conducted the Claremont Colleges Concert Choir and Chamber Choir from 1977-1997.
In addition to his service to Scripps College, Lamkin was also on the staff at the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria for 24 years. From 2000- 2007 he served as the festival’s Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. In 2007, he received the Grosse Ehrenzeichen — Great Medal of Honor — for his work in bringing Americans and Austrians closer together through music. This is the highest civilian honor given by the state government of Burgenland, Austria.
In the United States, Lamkin is responsible for co-founding the Haydn Society of California, and assisting with the organization of the Haydn Society of North America. In addition to his conducting at Scripps College, and the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Lamkin has also conducted concerts at the Iowa Center for the Arts, the Munich Conservatory Opera School, the Bratislava Chamber Orchestra in Slovakia, and in Xiamen, China. He holds degrees from Baylor University (BME. and MM) and a PhD in musicology from the University of Iowa.