Laura Bowler

A performer-composer and artistic director, her work makes heavy use of experimental vocals, physical movement and discursive political texts, she has made some of the most exciting – and divisive – music of the last decade.
hcmf//

Laura Bowler, described as “a triple threat composer-performer provocatrice”, is a composer, vocalist and artistic director specialising in theatre, multidisciplinary work and opera.

She has been commissioned across the globe by ensembles and orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, ROH2, Opera Holland Park, The Opera Group, Manchester Camerata, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Quatuor Bozzini (Canada), Ensemble Phace (Austria), Ensemble Linea (France), Omega Ensemble (Australia) and others.

Recent projects include:

FFF, for Ensemble Phace (Vienna) and vocalist (herself) a music theatre work commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and HCMF;
Feminine Hygiene, a multimedia work for large ensemble and vocalist, herself, commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic and Sounds from the Other City Festival;
Damned Mob of Scribbling Women- a 20-minute music theatre song cycle for leading UK new music vocalist Lucy Goddard, recently nominated for a British Composer Award;
Antarctica, a 50-minute multimedia work for orchestra and Laura as vocalist, co-commissioned by Manchester Camerata and BBC Radio 3.

Laura has performed and premiered works internationally as a vocalist including the premiere of Louis Aguirre’s The Way The Dead Love as part of European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017 programme plus the World and Canadian premieres of Jennifer Walshe’s boxing opera – Training is the Opposite.

She is also the vocalist in a contemporary music ensemble, Ensemble Lydenskab based in Aarhus, Denmark.

Upcoming projects include a music theatre work based on Rumpelstiltskin for Riot Ensemble with librettist Alasdair Middleton; and a new multimedia work for multidisciplinary group, Decoder Ensemble for HCMF 2020; a multimedia work for composer/pianist Zubin Kanga; as well as new smaller scale works for Vocalist Alwynne Pritchard and Nyckelharpist, Robert Bentall.

Laura is a Lecturer in Composition at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Royal Northern College of Music. Laura completed her BMus (Hons) at the RNCM and Sibelius Academy – Finland, followed by her MMus and PhD at the Royal Academy of Music. She also completed an MA in Theatre Directing at RADA.

Arts Desk-Premiere of FFF at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival described Laura as “a triple threat composer-performer provocatrice” in 2019.

This page was last updated in February 2022.