Laura Thompson

Laura Thompson (violin, viola, traditional Irish fiddle) is a musical omnivore hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She holds a Masters of Music in violin performance from the Royal College of Music in London, UK, where she studied with Berent Korfker and was a member of contemporary music group ExplorEnsemble. She also received a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Northwestern University, where she studied with Gerardo Ribeiro and performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She represented Britain as a solo fiddler at the 2011 All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil, the world championships of Irish music. In recent years, she has performed as a violinist with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, the Florentine Opera (Milwaukee), Ensemble Dal Niente (Chicago), Ensemble Evolution at the Banff Centre (Alberta, Canada), and the Next Festival for Emerging Artists (NYC). As a violist, she is a substitute with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, performed at the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Schwaz, Austria, and performed at the Tribeca Festival with the NYC-based Rhythm Method String Quartet. Passionate about teaching students from all backgrounds, Laura led the violin program for three years at Tamarack Waldorf School (Milwaukee), maintained a private studio of students ranging from ages 4-75 in Milwaukee, and taught in two different El Sistema-based free music programs in Chicago and Milwaukee. She has also taught Norwegian hardanger fiddle at the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America's annual workshop, and several Irish fiddle workshops at Lawrence University. While living in London, she worked on a project to help older adults with dementia create a song cycle as part of the English Touring Opera's Turtle Song initiative.