Biography

Thanks to her parents, Lauren Dunseath was surrounded by classical music from a young age. Her education began in a children’s choir, and was soon followed by piano lessons. At the age of eight she fell in love with the cello and began lessons, and as a teenager she attended the Luzerne Music Festival and the NYSSSA School of Orchestral Studies. A believer in performing contemporary works, she premiered a new concerto at Syracuse University in her senior year of high school. Lauren went on to study with Julia Lichten along with an esteemed faculty of chamber music coaches at SUNY Purchase, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree and a Performance Certificate. She received her Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University on a full scholarship thanks to fellowships in Opera and Contemporary Music. While at CMU, she received the Wilkins Cello Award and a grant to perform in Perugia, Italy.

Lauren has performed with many orchestras during her career including the West Virginia Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Akron Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Carolina Ballet, and North Carolina Symphony. She is currently a member of the cello section of the North Carolina Opera Orchestra and performs often with other groups in the Triangle area.

An avid chamber musician, Lauren is passionate about the piano trio repertoire and continues to perform in that genre regularly. She has been a member of ensembles that have won several competitions and awards, including the Silberman Chamber Music Competition and the season finale recital of the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania. She has worked with many world-class chamber musicians—including members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Claremont Trio, Mendelssohn Quartet, Beaux Arts Trio, and Guarneri Quartet—and strives to apply their teachings to her own playing and that of her students.

A firm believer that anyone can learn to play an instrument, Lauren has taught a diverse array of students over almost two decades. While living in Cleveland, she was the cello instructor at the Hathaway Brown School for girls and the University School for boys. At the same time, she founded and directed the Ohio City Cello Choir, an ensemble for amateur adult cellists. This group gave adults performance opportunities at assisted living facilities, schools, and even Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. Lauren has also appeared as a guest artist-lecturer at colleges and universities, leading masterclasses and performing recitals.