Christopher Lawrence (born 24 December 1956) is a classical musician, author, and conductor. He is most notable for his work as a broadcaster on

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

radio station

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

, and previously on

ABC Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

and

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

Early life

Lawrence's parents were both nightclub and television entertainers, his father a singer and pianist, his mother a singer and dancer. He has two younger brothers. From age 11 he had attended the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...

High School, studying piano and cello, but at age 15 had to terminate his studies and get a job when his parents divorced and his mother became a single mother of three sons. He was first employed as a mail boy at the ABC, later moving to the record library.Yvonne Preston, "Breakfast with Beethoven", ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'', Panorama, 20 December 1997, pp. 14–15

Career

Lawrence was the first presenter of

Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

's ''The Music Show'' on Saturday mornings which started in 1991 as ''In Tempo 91''. He also presented ABC Classic FM's ''Breakfast'' and ''Drive'' programs between 1994 and 2001. He then left Classic FM but returned in 2010 to present its ''Afternoons'' program; in 2012 he became the presenter for ''Mornings'', taking over from

Margaret Throsby Margaret Ellen Throsby AM, (born 1941) is an Australian radio and television broadcaster. She is known for having interviewed thousands of notable people for Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio programs. Early life Margaret Ellen Throsb ...

's tenure in that role. In 2016, he began presenting ''Drive'', and moved to ''Weekend Breakfast'' in 2018. He also presented ''Evenings'' and ''Breakfast'' on

702 ABC Sydney ABC Radio Sydney (official call sign: 2BL, formerly 2SB) is an ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 kHz on the AM dial. The station transmits with a power ( C ...

, ''Afternoons'' on 936 ABC Hobart, and the series ''Bakelite Express'' on networked local radio across the country. In October 2018, Lawrence announced his intention to retire in January 2019.

Awards

* 1989

International Emmy Award The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York City, New York–based International Academy of Televisi ...

for Arts Programming – soundtrack production for the ABC TV recording of The Australian Opera's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' stage production. * Three

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

(Australian Record Industry Association) *

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

* Editors' Choice Award at the 1992 Cannes Classical Awards in France. * In 1999 Lawrence was awarded an honorary doctorate in communications by

Central Queensland University Central Queensland University (branded as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus is at Norman ...

for his career in broadcasting.

Personal life

He is the partner of violinist Julia Fredersdorff, Artistic Director of the Peninsula Summer Music Festival. The couple have two daughters.

Bibliography

* * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Christopher ABC radio (Australia) journalists and presenters Classical music radio presenters Living people 1957 births Place of birth missing (living people)