Founding Artistic Director

Dr. Noreen Green is the Founding Artistic Director and Conductor of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony (LAJS), which she created in 1994. A trailblazing, inspirational conductor, educator and lecturer known worldwide for her knowledge and skill in presenting music with Jewish themes, she has served as guest conductor and lecturer in the United States, Israel, Spain, South Africa, Australia, Canada and the Caribbean. Wherever she appears, Green exudes a spirit of joy and harmony – bringing people together through the universal language of music through a Jewish lens.

In 2022, due to her noteworthy accomplishments and prominence in her field, Green was inducted into the prestigious Marquis Who’s Who Biographical Registry. In November 2022, she spoke at the United Nations on Music and the Holocaust: History, Memory and Justice. In January 2023, she gave a presentation on Jewish Music Repertoire in Multi-Cultural Programming at the International Conductors Guild Conference in Valencia, Spain. In June of 2023, Green served as artist-in-residence, dramaturge, musical director and pianist for a month-long run of the play “Stories from the Violins of Hope” in Sydney, Australia, where she was also honored by a member of the Parliament of New South Wales for her participation in Jewish Arts’ “Melodies of Memories” at North Shore Temple.

After a 21-month pandemic delay, on December 12, 2021, Green and the LAJS gave their long-awaited concert as part of the International Violins of Hope Project at The Soraya. The soloists and several orchestra members played instruments from the Violins of Hope collection that had been rescued from the Holocaust. The powerful performance garnered three standing ovations from the capacity crowd and had more than 4,000 online views. On November 20, 2022, Green and the LAJS returned to The Soraya for The Music of Inon Zur, which included the World Premiere of the Suite From Syberia: The World Before. The concert was enthusiastically received by audience members, who raved about the “unique and exceptionally brilliant” program of music that made the “complexity and appeal” of video games accessible to classical music lovers.

In 2020, Green’s life and career was the subject of a Spotlight Series documentary by the Milken Archive of Jewish Music. Green also was recently honored by Musical America, the oldest and most prestigious American magazine on classical music, as one of the Top 30 Musical America Professionals of the Year, which hailed her as “the most energetic advocate for Jewish music and music-making in the Los Angeles area.”  Deeply committed to new works as well as traditional repertoire, she has earned accolades from critics and colleagues alike.  Grammy Award-winning conductor/composer Lucas Richman says, “Noreen has done me the honor of commissioning and conducting several of my own compositions over the years and I am ever grateful for the inspiring and moving performances she has rendered at the helm.”

Additional recognition for Green includes honors from the National Foundation of Jewish Culture, the State of Israel Bonds, and California Legislature Assembly Member Bob Blumenfield for creating the Interfaith Tribute Choir and Orchestra Concert for Remembering 9/11. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has awarded her a Commendation for her contribution to the Los Angeles arts scene.

Under Green’s direction, the LAJS has performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Ford Theatres, The Soraya on the campus of CSUN, Royce Hall at UCLA, the Gindi Auditorium at American Jewish University and other venues. Special guest performers have included such personalities as 20-year-old Grammy and Emmy winner Emily Bear, Tovah Feldshuh, Randy Newman, Dave Koz, Hershey Felder, Melissa Manchester and many others. As a choral conductor, Green also has served in past years as music director for several synagogue programs, the American Jewish University Choir and the Pierce Encore Singers.

Green is deeply committed to the education of the next generation. The LAJS and its Teaching Artists annually serve over 1200 elementary students with an innovative outreach education program, A Patchwork of Cultures: Exploring the Sephardic-Latino Connection.  In April 2023 she will present a Holocaust education program at The Soraya entitled Triumph of the Spirit: Music of the Holocaust.

In great demand as a lecturer and educator, Green has spoken at numerous national and international symposia, including a highly acclaimed lecture-concert, A Celebration of Women and Music through a Jewish Lens, in Sydney, Australia. She also has spoken at the National and Western Division Conferences of American Choral Directors, the Conference of the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism and Berkeley’s Magnes Collection for Jewish Art and Life.

Green and the LAJS have two CDs on the prestigious Albany Records label: contemporary Philadelphia composer Andrea Clearfield’s oratorio “Women of Valor” and Holocaust survivor Eric Zeisl’s ballet “Jacob and Rachel” and “Variations on a Slovakian Theme” on The Music of Eric Zeisl. 

Green holds a Master of Music degree from California State University, Northridge, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California.