Tuesday, June 10th

Praised for "her sweet and distinct tone…breathtaking in colour," Dr. Laurel Swinden embraces a multi-faceted career as a performer, educator and scholar. Laurel has been an invited performer and teacher in Argentina, Peru, Belgium, Puerto Rico, the Sichuan Conservatory (China.) She has performed throughout the United States and Canada as a soloist and as a member of the NAFTA Duo and PanAmerican Flute Trio. Dr. Swinden's Celebrating Women! recordings with pianist Stephanie Mara can be heard on Spotify, Naxos and CBC Music. As part of the Flute New Music Consortium, Laurel co-commissions and premieres new works for flute. She is the Principal Flute of the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, Associate Principal Flute/Piccolo of the Scarborough Philharmonic and has performed with the New World Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, Symphony of the Americas and with various orchestras throughout southwestern Ontario, Canada. A dedicated teacher, Dr. Swinden teaches flute at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Laurier Academy of Music and Arts. Laurel serves on the National Flute Association Pedagogy Committee. Dr. Swinden is an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Glenn Gould Professional School and adjudicates at festivals across North and South America.