Laura Hawley is a Canadian composer, conductor, pianist, and educator known for her creative musical leadership and artistic programming, community engagement, distinctive compositional style, and passionate advocacy for Canadian choral art.
Laura has been steeped in choral art since childhood, and her output demonstrates an ongoing interest in writing for all artists from the developing chorister’s voice to the professional choral ensemble. Her works have been commissioned, performed, and recorded by many fine choirs including Canadian Chamber Choir, Pro Coro Canada, New Dublin Voices, Elektra Women’s Choir, Vancouver Youth Choir, Cantiamo Choirs, and Toronto Children’s Chorus. She has been Composer-In-Residence with Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa, Halifax Camerata Singers, and, currently, with Vancouver Chamber Choir. Laura’s works are published by Oxford University Press, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Rhythmic Trident Music Publishing, Cypress Choral music, Silent Dawn Music Publishing, and on www.laurahawley.ca.
As well as being a composer, Laura is also a leader in the Canadian choral scene as artistic director of Da Camera Singers (Edmonton), conductor of ChandraTala (Edmonton), and founding conductor of the Diocese of Edmonton Children’s Choir. She was pianist/singer with the Canadian Chamber Choir from 2018-2022, and co-founded the Sonic Timelapse Project in 2020. In 2015 she founded Hypatia’s Voice Women’s Choir of Ottawa. Laura has also taught theory, conducting, and composition at the university level.
Ms. Hawley holds an ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music and completed a BMus and MA at University of Ottawa. She has studied piano with Arlene MacNay and Sandra Webster, conducting with Wayne Toews, the late Prof. Morihiro Okabe, Michael Zaugg, and Lone Larsen, composition with Stephen Gellman, Ugis Praulins, and Prof. Allan Bell, and voice with Elizabeth Turnbull.
