Riverside Symphony co-founder George Rothman has been Riverside Symphony’s conductor since the orchestra’s inception. A native New Yorker, Mr. Rothman received his undergraduate training at the Manhattan School of Music and his Masters degree at Queens College, where he also served as Associate Lecturer and Conductor for two years. In 1979, Mr. Rothman was awarded a scholarship to study conducting at Tanglewood, where he worked with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa.

Mr. Rothman served as Music Director of the Grand Junction (Colorado) Symphony for the 1986-87 season, and has conducted numerous orchestras throughout the United States, including the Denver Chamber Orchestra, Florida Festival Orchestra, and the Dayton Philharmonic among others. He made a highly acclaimed South American debut conducting the Sinfonia Orqesta da Campinas of Brazil in 1993. In 1996, Mr. Rothman made his Asian debut with the Shanghai Symphony and in 1998, made his European debut with the South Jutland Orchestra in Denmark. Mr. Rothman has been active as pianist and lecturer in a wide variety of musical settings, including appearances with leading American composers in workshops and seminars. Mr. Rothman served as Director of Music Performance at Columbia University and conductor of its orchestra from 1988-2000 and Music Director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra from 2004-2005. He currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of Brooklyn College’s Conservatory Orchestra and Associate Professor of Music.