Laura Andel

Argentinian musician, woodwind player, conductor and composer, born 1968 and currently based in USA. In Buenos Aires, she attended Escuela de Música Popular de Avellaneda, where Andel received a degree in Tango performance. In 1993 Laura Andel moved to Boston to study jazz composition and music for film at Berkley College of Music. Since then, she is focused primarily on composition for large ensembles and developing her own conducting as part of the compositional process. She lives in New York since 2000, when she founded Laura Andel Orchestra, a large ensemble that features an unusual combination of instruments and unites musicians from diverse backgrounds that perform Andel's extended compositions. Her 9-piece orchestra includes bandoneon, gamelan instruments, electric guitar, Fender Rhodes, vibraphone, cornet, viola, clarinets, piano and double bass. Previous orchestra explorations include the 14-piece SomnambulisT orchestra, and the 10-piece Electric Percussive Orchestra. Also, Laura Andel has been collaborating with Gamelan Son Of Lion ensemble on some of her recent works. Andel was also organizing Listening Sessions (2001-2005) in New York as a space to listen and discuss music with other attentive listeners regularly. She did many artist residencies, including composer fellowships at Henry Mancini Institute (1997), MacDowell Artist Colony (2002), Sacatar Foundation (2004), Bellagio Study Center/Rockfeller Foundation (2007), Blue Mountain Center (2006, 2008), Jerome Foundation Artist-in-Residence (2012-13).