Laura Harrison is a composer whose music explores unique timbres and extended techniques within the context of traditional performance practices. Her works are characterized by rhythmic drive, lyrical melodies, and emotional intensity. 

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Recent engagements include a solo double bass piece for performer Kate Alexandra, a piano quintet for a collaboration with Salon 21, Cincinnati Soundbox, and 4-Way String Quartet; a work for the Columbus-based Tower Duo; a vocal trio for Cincinnati Soundbox; and a solo work for oboist Sara Renner. Upcoming projects include a piano sonata for a commission by pianist Kristofer Rucinski. 

 

She has received recognition as a two-time recipient of the Schuster Scholarship for outstanding music students, as the winner of the Wheaton College Alumni Composition Competition and the Josephine Halversen Memorial Composition Prize, and as a finalist in the BMI Student Composer Awards (2014) and the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Competition (2014 and 2015). Laura has presented her music in masterclasses with such prominent composers such as Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, and Caroline Shaw.  Her music has been featured at the Midwest Composers Symposium and the 2017 Fresh Inc. Festival. 

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Laura holds a DMA (2017) and MM (2014) in Composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she taught composition and orchestration, and a Bachelor of Music in Composition and Piano Performance (2012) from Wheaton College. Her teachers have included Michael Fiday, Douglas Knehans, Howard Whitaker, and David M. Gordon.

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Combining her own compositional work with a desire to support the new music of our time, Laura also organizes a series of new music concerts in the Cincinnati area, and is an active performer and music educator. 

 

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