Biography

Laura Andel was born in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 of Moldovian

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

 heritage, and began music lessons in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 at the age of five. She played woodwind as a child and began to compose at an early age. She graduated from Escuela de Música Popular de Avellaneda in Buenos Aires with a degree in Tango

Tango music

Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...

 performance, and in January 1993, she began the study of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 composition and music for film at Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...

 in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

.

After completing her studies, Andel moved to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 2000 where she has worked as a composer and conductor. She is the leader of the Laura Andel Orchestra and has conducted her music in cities including New York, Boston, Buenos Aires, Caracas

Caracas

Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

, and Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

.

Awards and honors

• BMI Foundation-Jerry Harrington Jazz Composers Award
• Rockefeller Foundation
  Rockefeller Foundation
  The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
  
   fellow at the Bellagio Study Center in Italy
• Margaret Fairbank Jory Copying Assistance Program Grant from the American Music Center
• Music Composition Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council
• Artist-in-residence at the MacDowell Colony
  MacDowell Colony
  The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
  
   (Peterborough, NH, 2002)
• Artist-in-residence at Sacatar Foundation (Bahia
  Bahia
  Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
  
  , Brazil, 2003/2004)

Works

Andel has focused on composing for large ensembles. Her compositions use elements from Jazz and classical music, and feature unusual combinations of instruments. Selected works include:

• SomnambulisT
• In::Tension:..
• Doble Mano
• Apsides
• In the midst
• Noise Machine

Discography

Music recorded and released on CD includes:

• Berklee Discover (1997)
• SomnambulisT Orchestra SomnambulisT Red Toucan (2002)
• Laura Andel Orchestra/Doble Mano
• Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra In, Thru, and Out (2003)
• Amalgam(e) 10 years of Red Toucan (2004)
• Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra Celebration of the Spirit (2004)
• Laura Andel Electric Percussive Orchestra/I n : : t e n s i o n : Rossbin Records (2005)

Independent releases:

• Laura Andel Music for [+°-] 20 Musicians Music by Laura Andel (2000)
• Laura Andel Jazz Orchestra Music by Laura Andel (1997)
• Laura Andel & Oli Bott Jazz Orchestra Live in Berlin 1999 Music by Laura Andel and Oli Bott (1999)
• Laura Andel & Oli Bott Jazz Orchestra Music by Laura Andel and Oli Bott (1998)