BIOGRAPHY
Lawson Malnory is a musician, ethnomusicologist, arts manager, singer-songwriter, recording artist, filmmaker, and percussionist trained in orchestral, popular, and world musics.
His diverse performances range from a weekend with the Lawton Philharmonic (Oklahoma) to a sit-in with Balawan and his Ethnic Fusion Band in Seminyak (Bali). Lawson learned from members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Opera Orchestra, and the world music ensemble D'Drum. He spent several years as the drummer for Dallas band Love Junky, performing frequently in historic Deep Ellum and contributing to the soundtrack of Night Hawks, the short film by Carlos Garcia, Jr. Lawson has also published two records of his original songs: The Front of the Line (2020) and Two Thousand & One (2021).
He graduated from Southern Methodist University, earning a Bachelor's in Percussion Performance and a minor in Arts Management. Lawson's experience in the latter field includes work with Voices of Change, where he is currently a member of the Board of Directors; Helping Hand Drums, a 501(c)3 which he co-founded and continues to manage; as well as Bridge the Gap Chamber Players, the Fine Arts Chamber Players, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and The Phoenix Symphony.
Lawson has studied ethnomusicology in the classroom at SMU and Arizona State University and on location in Bali and Cuba. and has written, filmed, and edited several music videos and two short documentaries about global music traditions.
Lawson's taste in music is eclectic and his influences are equally diverse, allowing for a unique ability to conceive of music through a variety of distinct perspectives. He applies this plurality of vision to his work as a creator, researcher, educator, and administrator. His favorite musical quote when he wrote this was "wosiye ngoma" - Shona for you're leaving the music.*
*Quoted from Simon Mashoko's performance of "Mbiriviri" on The Soul of Mbira: Traditions of the Shona People of [Zimbabwe] (1973)
His diverse performances range from a weekend with the Lawton Philharmonic (Oklahoma) to a sit-in with Balawan and his Ethnic Fusion Band in Seminyak (Bali). Lawson learned from members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Opera Orchestra, and the world music ensemble D'Drum. He spent several years as the drummer for Dallas band Love Junky, performing frequently in historic Deep Ellum and contributing to the soundtrack of Night Hawks, the short film by Carlos Garcia, Jr. Lawson has also published two records of his original songs: The Front of the Line (2020) and Two Thousand & One (2021).
He graduated from Southern Methodist University, earning a Bachelor's in Percussion Performance and a minor in Arts Management. Lawson's experience in the latter field includes work with Voices of Change, where he is currently a member of the Board of Directors; Helping Hand Drums, a 501(c)3 which he co-founded and continues to manage; as well as Bridge the Gap Chamber Players, the Fine Arts Chamber Players, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and The Phoenix Symphony.
Lawson has studied ethnomusicology in the classroom at SMU and Arizona State University and on location in Bali and Cuba. and has written, filmed, and edited several music videos and two short documentaries about global music traditions.
Lawson's taste in music is eclectic and his influences are equally diverse, allowing for a unique ability to conceive of music through a variety of distinct perspectives. He applies this plurality of vision to his work as a creator, researcher, educator, and administrator. His favorite musical quote when he wrote this was "wosiye ngoma" - Shona for you're leaving the music.*
*Quoted from Simon Mashoko's performance of "Mbiriviri" on The Soul of Mbira: Traditions of the Shona People of [Zimbabwe] (1973)
