Laura Gaynon

Laura Gaynon enjoys a dynamic career as a cellist, educator, and non-profit leader. A versatile performer, she has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and recording artist in major venues and studios across the United States, Europe, Canada, and China.

Currently based in San Francisco, Laura loves collaborating within its vibrant arts scene. She has performed chamber opera with Opera Parallèle, toured nationally for Pop-Up Magazine with Magik*Magik Orchestra, and recorded scores for both independent artists and major films, including Looper (2012). Equally at home playing modern and Baroque cello, she has performed with orchestras throughout Northern California, including San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Monterey Symphony, and Fresno Philharmonic, as well as many of the West Coast’s major historical performance ensembles, such as the American Bach Soloists, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, Albany Consort, and as a co-founder of the baroque chamber ensemble, MUSA. Between 2016 and 2019, Laura co-founded and co-directed Bard Music West, a San Francisco music festival that explored the life and works of one composer each season through music, dance, theater, film, and lectures.

A passionate chamber musician, Laura has performed with members of the Jupiter String Quartet, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Kim Kashkashian, Bernhard Scully, Geoff Nuttall, Krista Bennion-Feeney, and Bonnie Hampton, among many others. She performs frequently at summer music festivals, which have included Taos School of Music, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Valley of the Moon Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and the International Piatigorsky Cello Masterclasses.

Highly sought-after as an educator, Laura has taught at numerous chamber music programs and festivals, including at the Pacific Crest Music Festival, of which she also became Artistic Director in 2022. Before joining the faculty at SFSU, Laura taught cello to undergraduates at CSU Cal Poly SLO and at the University of Illinois. Combining her dedication to both performance and education, during the pandemic she completed coursework at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign toward a Doctor of Musical Arts degree.

Laura studied at Yale University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the University of Illinois. At SFCM, she earned an M.M. in cello performance, an artist certificate in chamber music, and a professional studies diploma with an emphasis in historical performance practice. Her major teachers include Jennifer Culp, Elisabeth Reed, Daniel McDonough, and Denise Djokic. Laura performs on a 2015 cello made by David Wiebe and a late 18th-century Klotz family baroque cello.