Laura KaminskyView profile
Professor
Laura Kaminsky serves as Professor of Music and Head of Composition at Purchase College's School of the Arts, where she teaches in both the arts management program and classical composition program within the Conservatory of Music. She previously held leadership roles including Chair of Music at Cornish College of the Arts (1999-2004) and Dean of Purchase College's Conservatory of Music (2004-2008), and has maintained significant artistic positions at New York City institutions including 92nd Street Y, Town Hall, and Symphony Space. Her research and creative work centers on contemporary classical composition with particular focus on chamber opera, LGBTQIA+ representation in music, and multidisciplinary cultural programming. Kaminsky's compositional output explores transgender narratives, environmental themes, and social justice issues through innovative musical structures. Notable projects include the groundbreaking chamber opera As One (2014), which has become the most frequently produced contemporary opera in North America, and the Crossroads/Rising Tide environmental project. Her scientific recognition includes six ASCAP-Chamber Music America Awards for Adventurous Programming and the Polish Ministry of Culture National Heritage 2010 Chopin Award. Major funding has come from the National Endowment for the Arts, Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Opera America, New York State Council on the Arts, Aaron Copland Fund, and Chamber Music America among others. Kaminsky maintains active artistic direction of Musicians Accord, the new music collective she co-founded in 1984, which operates in residence at City College of New York. Her recent projects include commissions for pianist Mackenzie Melemed (2024's Threnody ), the Utah-based Dance in the Desert featuring Desert Portal (2024), and the chamber opera Hometown to the World (2022). She has received extensive support from over 15 major arts organizations for her innovative programming and composition work.





