Private Instruction
Roots & Rock Faculty (Music Institute Klezmer Ensemble)
BMM degrees in viola performance, Indiana University (studied with David Dawson and Georges Janzer)
BM in viola performance from Indiana University
BA in Anthropology with a focus on Ethnomusicology, University of Chicago
Suzuki pedagogy with Michele Higa and George and Ann Montska-Smelser, and Klezmer violin with Deborah Strauss and Steve Greenman
In addition to teaching at the Music Institute of Chicago, Mr. Golden serves on the faculty of the Merit School of Music; Oakton Community College, where he founded and directs the Oakton String Ensemble; and the Great Lakes International Summer Music Institute at Algoma University in Canada.
For twenty-seven seasons he taught strings and directed the orchestra at the Algoma Music Camp. Mr. Golden was principal violist of the Lake Forest Symphony from 2003 to 2020. He is a member of the Ars Viva Symphony and the Chicago Philharmonic. He serves as principal violist for the Chicago Mastersingers Choir and annual performances of Too Hot to Handel at the Auditorium Theater.
For 25 years Mr. Golden was principal violist of Orchestra London, Canada. During his time in Ontario he was a frequent soloist with the orchestra and a founding member of the Rossini Quintet. He taught violin and viola privately and for the London Waldorf School, coached sectionals for the London Youth Symphony, and was a viola mentor for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. In addition to symphonic and chamber music Mr. Golden performs ethnic music on viola, violin, and mandolin. He was founder and leader of the Hot Latkes Klezmer Band based in London, Ontario. He produced, arranged, and performed on two albums with the group. Mr. Golden has also performed with Jazmer and the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band in Chicago, and with Hu Tza Tza and Beyond the Pale in Toronto. He appeared with his fiddle in the 2001 CBS miniseries Haven.
Most recently he has arranged and performed music for the High Holiday services at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago. Mr. Golden has directed string programs in several Chicago Public Schools for the Merit School. He conducts annual “Concerto Day” workshops for the Music Teachers of Hyde Park. Mr. Golden has presented workshops on Klezmer music in schools, camps and at the International Viola Congress. Mr. Golden has also participated in numerous other community service and outreach music programs, most recently under the auspices of the Chicago Philharmonic AMP and Chicago Park District/Chicago Philharmonic Side by Side in the Parks programs.
Active also as a composer, Mr. Golden has written and arranged music for string ensembles, Klezmer groups, symphony orchestra, jazz band and student musicians at all levels. His Likht un Shotn for four soloists and large orchestra was premiered in 2012 by the Park Ridge Civic Orchestra. As a member of the Lake Forest Symphony String Quartet Mr. Golden participated in two series of “Musical Memories” programs promoting brain health by bringing instrumental music to Alzheimer’s patients at Lake Forest Place. These performances were tied to a research project to measure the impact of structured musical listening activities on the patients’ emotional health and cognitive abilities.