Violinist and improviser Lauren Cauley has quickly risen in New York’s avant-garde as an artist known for genre-breaking performances that expand the sonic possibilities of her instrument. Now a “mainstay of the local new-music scene” (New York Times), she’s built a reputation as an interpreter of “fierce precision” and “excellence uncompromised” (Cleveland Classical).
Lauren has worked with artists and composers such as Anahita Abbasi, Hans Abrahamsen, Ambrose Akinmusire, Bedouine, Richard Carrick, Chance the Rapper, Ellie Goulding, Georg Friedrich Haas, Pauline Kim Harris, Jónsi & Alex Somers (Sigur Rós), Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend), David Lang, George Lewis, Qasim Naqvi, Steve Reich, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Together X Tomorrow (투모로우바이투게더), Wadada Leo Smith, Zeynep Toraman, Emily Wells, Saul Williams, Julia Wolfe, and Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast).
Lauren maintains an international career with performances at festivals such as Venice Biennale, Acht Brücken, Newport Jazz, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Lincoln Center Festival, Darmstadt, Asphalt, Bang on a Can, ECLAT, Ear We Are, KLANG, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Sons d’hiver, Winter Jazzfest NYC, Sympósio Internacional de Música Nova, and The Perlman Music Program. In addition to her work as a soloist, Lauren performs with Metropolis Ensemble, Ensemble Signal, and the [Switch~ Ensemble]. In 2024, Lauren will perform at the Whitney Biennial.
As a sought-after collaborator and recording artist, Lauren’s playing has been broadcast on WNYC, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, ORF Radio Wien, WDR Köln, Radio SRF 2 Kultur, and NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Lauren can be heard on Albany Records, Atlantic Records, ATMA Classique, Blue Note, Bright Shiny Things, Chandos Records, New Focus Recordings, Physical Editions, and RVNG Intl. As a composer, Lauren has premiered her own work for violin and electronics at the Guggenheim Museum and been commissioned by Metropolis Ensemble.
As a guest artist and educator, Lauren has given performances and worked with students at universities around the world, including Bard College; Berklee College of Music; Chinese University of Hong Kong; Cornell University; Dartmouth College; Eastman School of Music; Harvard University; Shanghai Conservatory; Universidade Federal do Paraná; University of Alaska, Anchorage; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, San Diego; and Wesleyan University.
Lauren received her BM and MM in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music, where she served as Teaching Assistant to Charles Castleman. While at Eastman, Lauren was awarded a DAAD grant to study at the Bauhaus Universität in Weimar, Germany. After Eastman, Lauren attended the International Ensemble Modern Academy, Klangspuren Schwaz. In addition to performing, Lauren maintains a private teaching studio. She plays a Parisian violin made by François Gaviniès in 1734.
“Fierce precision reigned… excellence uncompromised”
— Cleveland Classical
“a mainstay of the local new-music scene”
— New York Times
“gripping brilliance…prodigious energy and skill”