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LAURA KAMINSKY, possessing “an ear for the new and interesting” (The New York Times), frequently addresses social and political issues in her work. Her first opera, As One (co-librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed) is the most produced contemporary opera since its 2014 premiere with 65+ productions internationally. Other operas: Some Light Emerges and Today It Rains (Campbell & Reed); Hometown to the World (Reed); Finding Wright (Andrea Fellows Fineberg); February (co-librettist with novelist Lisa Moore); Lucidity (David Cote); Time To Act (Crystal Manich); The Post Office (Elaine Sexton); and, forthcoming, The Song of the Lark (Fineberg). Classical Voice America posits that “Kaminsky writes effectively for the voice, whether in searing, soul-baring arias and duets or recitative-like passages that propel the narrative” while American Record Guide notes “her music is full of fire as well as ice, contrasting dissonance and violence with tonal beauty and meditative reflection.” Kaminsky has written a Piano Concerto and a Piano Quintet for internationally renowned Ursula Oppens, and two string quartets for the acclaimed Fry Street Quartet, with whom she recently collaborated on a score for the documentary series Poetry in America. Awarded the Polish Gold Cross of Merit (Zloty Krzyż Zasługi RP) by the President of Poland for exemplary public service/humanitarian work, Kaminsky has been recognized by the NEA, Koussevitzky Music Foundation at the Library of Congress, Opera America, Chamber Music America, and USArtists International, among others. On the faculties at SUNY Purchase and Boston Conservatory/Berklee, Kaminsky is co-director, with librettist Deborah Brevoort, of Seattle Opera’s Creation Lab. [as of June 2026]
Scores: Bill Holab Music
Recordings: Affeto, Albany, Azica, Bridge, BSS, Cedille, CRI, Capstone, Mode, MSR, and Navona labels. A complete list of available recordings can be viewed at the Buy CDs page.
Management: Insignia Artists | gloria@InsigniaArtists.com
Kaminsky is a BMI composer.
Website: laurakaminsky.com
Long Bio – 800 words | PDF version
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LAURA KAMINSKY, possessing “an ear for the new and interesting” (The New York Times), frequently addresses social and political issues in her work. Her first opera, As One (co-librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed) is the most produced contemporary opera since its 2014 premiere with 65+ productions internationally. Classical Voice America posits that “Kaminsky writes effectively for the voice, whether in searing, soul-baring arias and duets or recitative-like passages that propel the narrative” while American Record Guide notes “her music is full of fire as well as ice, contrasting dissonance and violence with tonal beauty and meditative reflection.”
The success of As One has led Kaminsky down a path of multiple opera projects: the As One team has since been commissioned twice—by Houston Grand Opera for Some Light Emerges (2017) and Opera Parallèle/American Opera Projects for Today It Rains (2019). Hometown to the World (libretto: Reed; Santa Fe Opera) premiered in 2021, Finding Wright in 2022 (libretto: Andrea Fellows Fineberg; Dayton Opera). She was co-librettist (with novelist Lisa Moore) and composer for February, commissioned by Newfoundland’s Opera on the Avalon; it premiered there in 2023. Lucidity, with librettist David Cote (On Site Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera in the Heights, Tri-Cities Opera, Opera Ithaca, premiered in 2024, and has since been produced in Regensburg, Germany, and will be part of La Monnaie/de Munt’s 2026-2027 season in Brussels). Spring 2026 offered two world premiere productions: The Post Office, a chamber opera in poems, with words by Elaine Sexton and design by architect Charles Renfro (commissioned by Queen City Opera; produced by American Opera Projects and Spruce Peak Arts; presented at BAM) and Time to Act (libretto by Crystal Manich; dramaturgy/direction by Amy Hutchison; for Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Montana and Boston Conservatory of Music at Berklee; it was also presented by Boston Conservatory in a partnership with National Sawdust in New York, where it was recorded for a CD on the BSS label, to be released in fall 2026).
Recent solo and chamber music works include Threnody…October 2024 for pianist Mackenzie Melemed, recently recorded on his debut album, Tulevaisuus, on the BSS label; Arboreal for the Fry Street Quartet; Ruminations for solo guitar, recorded by David Leisner on Dedications (Azica); and Dis/enchantment (libretto: Andrea Fellows Fineberg) for 2 mezzo sopranos, guitar and string quartet (commissioned by the Del Sol String Quartet). Ruminations, arranged for solo marimba will premiere in late 2026 at the Charles Ives Music Festival. Also upcoming is The Blue Bottle Variations for string octet (for the Fry Street and Cassatt String Quartets). Kaminsky has worked with the Fry Street Quartet and climate change scientist and activist Dr. Robert Davies to create Rising Tide: The Crossroads Project (2012), for which she composed a string quartet woven through an evening-length science performance project that confronts a planet under siege and a future in peril, inspiring audiences to change course. This evocative performance about global sustainability that weaves art and science together through music, prose and imagery has had close to 100 performances internationally and has been made into a 71-minute long film.
Having lived and worked in West Africa (Ghana, National Academy of Music at Winneba, 1992-1993) and Eastern Europe (based in Poland, as director of the European Mozart Academy, 1996-1997), Kaminsky’s musical language is eclectic, drawing from many sources of inspiration and deep study. According to The New York Times, “innovative sound has been a driving force for Ms. Kaminsky since she was a child. Among her influences (are) Dmitri Shostakovich, Meredith Monk, Stephen Sondheim and Brazilian pop.” The prestigious online journal, newmusicbuff, states “Kaminsky’s compositional skills allow her to evoke pretty much whatever emotion she chooses. Her style shows influences and echoes from classical forms, jazz, pop, minimalism all integrated into a largely tonal/post romantic style which easily engages listeners and manages to be highly expressive.”
Awarded the 2016 Polish Gold Cross of Merit (Zloty Krzyż Zasługi RP) by the President of Poland for exemplary public service and humanitarian work, Kaminsky has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Opera America, Chamber Music America, USArtists International, CEC ArtsLink International Partnerships, Likhachev-Russkiy Mir Foundation Cultural Fellowship, Composers Now, and has received six ASCAP-Chamber Music America Awards for Adventuresome Programming. Head of composition at Purchase College Conservatory of Music, and a professor serving both the composition and opera/voice programs at Boston Conservatory of Music at Berklee, Kaminsky is co-director, with librettist Deborah Brevoort, of Seattle Opera’s Creation Lab. She was a mentor for the Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative and the Juilliard School Blueprint Fellowship program, has led The American Opera Project’s Artistic Advisory Council, and served on the boards of Opera America, Chamber Music America, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Hermitage Artist Retreat. [as of June 2026]
Scores: Bill Holab Music
Recordings: Affeto, Albany, Bridge, BSS, Cedille, CRI, Capstone, Mode, MSR, and Navona labels. A complete list of available recordings can be viewed at the Buy CDs page.
Management: Insignia Artists | gloria@InsigniaArtists.com
Kaminsky is a BMI composer.
Website: laurakaminsky.com
Grants and Awards
For Composing:
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- National Endowment for the Arts: Opera Grant for Pittsburgh Opera world premiere of Time to Act, 2026
- OPERA America Commissioning Grant (for Lucidity; On Site Opera; Seattle Opera; Opera in the Heights; Ithaca Opera; Tri-Cities Opera; Syracuse Opera), 2024
- OPERA America Repertoire Development Grant (for Time to Act; Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Intermountain Bozeman), 2024
- OPERA America Commissioning Grant (for Time to Act; Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Intermountain Bozeman), 2023
- BRIO (Bronx Arts Council Artist Award), 2022
- National Endowment for the Arts, 2021 (for Finding Wright)
- Arizona State University, Visiting Fellow, Institute for Humanities Research, 2019-2020
- BRIO (Bronx Arts Council Artist Award), 2019
- Composers Now Visionary Award, 2019
- William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 50 Arts Commissions (for Today It Rains; Opera Parallèle), 2017
- Hometown to the World (Santa Fe and San Francisco Operas, leading a consortium including Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Sarasota Opera, and Seattle Opera), 2017
- Opera America Commissioning Grant (for Today It Rains; Opera Parallèle), 2017
- Opera America Commissioning Grant (for Some Light Emerges; Houston Grand Opera), 2016
- BRIO (Bronx Arts Council Artist Award), 2016
- Camargo Foundation Fellowship (Cassis, France), 2016
- Opera America Development Grant (for Today It Rains), 2015
- 50 for 50 Arts Westchester Artist Award, 2015
- UUP Faculty Support Award, 2015
- National Endowment for the Arts (As One), 2014
- Opera America Discovery Grant (As One), 2014
- Purchase College Faculty Development Award, 2014
- BRIO (Bronx Arts Council Artist Award), 2014
- BAM/Kennedy Center DeVos Institute Fellowship Award (for As One), 2013
- New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship: Commission, 2013
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 2012
- Hermitage Artist Retreat Center Residency Fellowship, 2012-2014
- Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress Commissioning Award, 2011
- Centrum Artist Residency Fellowship, Port Townsend, WA, 2011
- Meet the Composer Met Life Creative Connections Residency Grant, 2011
- Faculty Support Award, Purchase College, 2011
- Seal Bay Chamber Music Festival Composer-in-Residence Fellowship, 2011
- Meet the Composer Met Life Creative Connections Residency Grant, 2010
- Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble Residency, Staten Island, NY, 2010-2011
- Lucy Moses School of Music Chamber Music Commission, 2010-11
- Dorland Mountain Artists Colony Residency Fellowship, 2010
- New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artists Commission, 2010
- Hermitage Artist Retreat Center Residency Fellowship, 2009-2011
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 2009-2010
- Copying Assistance Program Grant/American Music Center, 2009
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 2009
- Meet the Composer Met Life Creative Connections Residency Grant, 2009
- Kenan Institute for the Arts Commission, 2009
- Lucy Moses School of Music, Kaufmann Cultural Center and Women’s Work Music Co-Commission, 2008
- Centrum Artist Residency Fellowship, Port Townsend, WA, 2008
- Lucy Moses School of Music Chamber Music Commission, 2007-2008
- Purchase College Professional Development Award, 2007
- Centrum Artist Residency Fellowship, Port Townsend, WA, 2007
- Lucy Moses School of Music Chamber Music Commission, 2006-2007
- Purchase College Professional Development Award, 2007
- Centrum Artist Residency Fellowship, Port Townsend, WA, 2007
- Lucy Moses School of Music Chamber Music Commission, 2006-2007
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 2006
- CEC ArtsLink Projects Award, 2006
- National Endowment for the Arts commission, 2005
- North Carolina Arts Council Grant, 2004
- Centrum Artist Residency Fellowship, Port Townsend, WA, 2004
- Jordan Foundation Commissioning Grant, 2003
- Icicle Creek Music Center Visiting Composer Residency, Leavenworth, WA, 2003
- Cornish College of the Arts Professional Development Award, 1999-2004
- Artist Trust GAP Grant, 2002
- Jory Copying Assistance Program Grant/American Music Center, 2001
- Seattle Arts Commission Performing Artists Award, 2001
- King County Arts Council Special Projects Grant [through Odeon String Quartet], 2001
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 1999
- Serage Foundation Artist Grant, 1998
- National Endowment for the Arts Recording Grant [through Musicians Accord], 1995
- Meet the Composer Grants, 1983-1997; 1999, 2000; 2002
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 1992
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 1991
- National Flute Association, Finalist, Newly Published Works Competition, 1991
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 1990
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 1989
- New York State Council on the Arts Recording Grant, 1987
- Millay Colony for the Arts Residency Fellowship, 1986
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency Fellowship, 1985
- Millay Colony for the Arts Residency Fellowship, 1984
- Panopticon/New York Women Composers Competition, 1986
- Composers’ Forum: New Music/New Composers Competition, 1985
- American Society for Jewish Music Competition, 1985
- American Women Composers National Competition, 1984
- Tuch Foundation Fellowship, 1978-80
For Presenting/Producing:
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- Composers Now Visionary Award, 2019
- Polish Gold Cross of Merit (Zloty Krzyż Zasługi RP), awarded by the President of Poland for exemplary public service or humanitarian work, 2015
- Virgil Thomson Foundation Grant to support “Virgil Thomson and Friends at the Chelsea Hotel,” 2014
- ASCAP/Chamber Music America Adventurous Programming Award, 2013
- Peter Jay Sharp Foundation Grant to support “Harlem Resonance Festival, 2013
- AMEX Foundation Grant to produce “John Cage: How to Get Started,” 2012
- Florence Gould Foundation Grant to support “Gertrude’s Paris” Festival, 2012
- ASCAP/Chamber Music America Adventurous Programming Award, 2011
- Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage 2010 Chopin Award
- CEC ArtsLink Award to support Wall to Wall Behind the Wall: Music of the Soviet Era, 2010
- Trust for Mutual Understanding Grant to support Wall to Wall Behind the Wall: Music of the Soviet Era, 2010
- Likhachev/Russkiy Mir Foundation Cultural Fellowship to St. Petersburg, Russia, 2009
- NEA American Masterpieces for “The 1939 Project: American Arts at a Turning Point” at Symphony Space, 2008-09
- Wachovia Foundation for “Africa and the African Diaspora: Traditions, Revolutions and Innovations,” 2007-08
- Mellon Foundation for “Africa and the African Diaspora: Traditions, Revolutions and Innovations” New York Festival and Symposum, 2007-2008
- New York State Music Fund for “New Latin Music for New Audiences,” a part of “Africa and the African Diaspora: Traditions, Revolutions and Innovations,” 2006-2008
- Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming as Artistic Director of the Cornish Music Series, 2003
- Aaron Copland Fund for Music Supplemental Program Grants for “The Cornish Music Series” in 2003/04, 2002/03 and “Copland & Weill: A Centenary Celebration” in 2000
- Aaron Copland Fund for Music Performing Ensembles Grants for Musicians Accord, 1990-2002
- Jack Straw Productions Artist Support Grant as Director of Musicians Accord to record “The Brazil Project,” 2000
- Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming as Artistic Director of The Town Hall, NYC, First Prize, 1991
- Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming as Artistic Director of The Town Hall, NYC, First Prize, 1990
- Citation from the Office of the Manhattan Borough President for Service to New York as Artistic Director of The Town Hall, 1989
- Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming as Artistic Director of The Town Hall, Second Prize, 1989
