Laura Bontrager

Biography

Laura Bontrager came to New York City in 1986 to attend the Juilliard School, where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees. Her commitment to contemporary music began with her North American premiere of Richard Barrett’s Ne songe plus à fuir for solo cello at Juilliard’s Focus! Festival and continued with featured performances of works by Roger Sessions and John Tavener with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. Laura has appeared with a variety of orchestras and chamber music ensembles, in jazz and popular settings, on Broadway, and in solo recital. She has performed with Leonard Bernstein, Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Slatkin, Bernadette Peters, and Elvis Costello, and has recorded on the RCA Victor, Sony Classical, and Albany Records labels. Most recently, she recorded David Wolfson’s Sonata for Cello and Piano on the album 17 Windows and with the 19 Mercer Ensemble for Eric Schorr’s new album New York Pretending to be Paris. Laura plays regularly with the New York Pops, New York City Ballet, Oratorio Society of New York, American Modern Ensemble, and Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra. She is a faculty member at the Diller-Quaile School of Music and the Chapin School in Manhattan.