Education
- BMusPerf, University of Toronto
Biography
Award-winning Canadian vocalist, composer and improviser Laura Swankey is known for her versatility, creativity and open mindedness. Growing up in Vancouver studying classical piano and clarinet, she completed two diplomas in music composition and jazz vocal performance at Grant MacEwan University. Laura then transferred to the University of Toronto to complete a Bachelor’s of Music in jazz vocal performance, and studied privately with Christine Duncan, Alex Samaras, Mike Murley and Shannon Coates.
Quickly establishing herself in the Toronto music scene, Laura has worked with artists including Juno award-winner Mike Murley, Mark Feldman, Christine Duncan, Poet Laureate Dennis Lee, and Ralph Alessi, and premiered works by Juliet Palmer, Elio Villafranca, and Mike McCormick. Recently Laura has been touring throughout Canada, parts of America and Scandinavia with Proxemics, Elisa Thorn’s Hue Project, Star Triptych, Jazz Bras Dot Com, Dr. Purgatory, Plastic Babies, Delusions of Grandeur, Collective Order, and her solo project which combines dry and electronically processed voice.
Laura has a unique approach to singing using her agile, expressive and diverse voice as an instrument in settings ranging from experimental music to traditional jazz, folk, and rock.
Teaching voice and piano privately since 2004, Laura joined both the University of Toronto and Humber College as a faculty member in their music departments in 2018.