Lawrence Dobell was born in Melbourne and studied clarinet at the Victorian College of the Arts. He held the position of Principal Clarinet with the Australian Youth Orchestra for four years and toured with them to China in 1979. In 1982 he won the Victorian State Finals of the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition, and in the same year was appointed to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, becoming Principal Clarinet in 1985.
In 1987, he represented Australia in the World Philharmonic Orchestra in Tokyo, and in 1989 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship which enabled him to undertake a study tour of the United States and Europe, incorporating the orchestras of Chicago, Berlin, Vienna and Amsterdam.
Lawrence Dobell has appeared as soloist with the SSO on numerous occasions. He performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto under Stuart Challender, and in 1989 he gave the Australian premiere of John Corigliano’s Clarinet Concerto, a work he performed again in 1997 under the baton of Marin Alsop. He also featured as a soloist in the opening concert of the SSO’s European tour in 1995, performing Berio’s Concertino with concertmaster John Harding.
Other solo appearances with the SSO include the Adagio from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in the 1996 Swoon concert, Lutoslawski’s Dance Preludes, Krommer’s Concerto for two clarinets and orchestra with Francesco Celata, and Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue and Riffs under Mark Elder in 1997. He has also performed as a soloist with the Melbourne and Adelaide symphony orchestras, and the AYO.
Lawrence Dobell is an active chamber musician, having been a member of the Seymour Group and the Australian Wind Virtuosi, and appearing numerous times as a guest artist at the Huntington Festival.