Laura Cahn Wallace
Conductor, AYSE & AYDO

Laura Cahn Wallace is a dynamic and versatile music educator, conductor, and violist. She is the conductor of the American Youth String Ensemble and Debut Orchestra for the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras. As a dedicated music educator, Mrs. Wallace teaches orchestra at Williamsburg Middle School in Arlington, Virginia. She previously taught at George Mason Elementary School and conducted the Alexandria All-City Orchestra. In partnership with ACPS, she also served as the director of the AYPO Music Buddies Mentorship Program. Mrs. Wallace has appeared as a conductor for the Loudoun All-County Orchestra, Fauquier All-County Orchestra and the New World Concert Orchestra in Indianapolis. In addition, she was the Orchestra Director at the KIPP:DC AIM Academy in Washington D.C.. As a studio teacher, Mrs. Wallace has served on the faculty for the Levine School of Music, Indianapolis Academy of Music and the Indiana University String Academy. She currently maintains a private violin and viola studio in McLean, Virginia.

Mrs. Wallace has performed as a violist across the United States and Europe. In the Washington DC Area, she is an active freelance musician and has served as principal violist of the Maryland Lyric Opera Orchestra, performed with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and regularly plays with the String Quartet of Northern Virginia. She has participated in the American Institute for Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, Masters du Pontlevoy in Pontlevoy, France and the National Orchestral Institute in College Park, Maryland.

Mrs. Wallace graduated with distinction from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance. Her principal teachers were Mimi Zweig and Atar Arad. Mrs. Wallace received a full scholarship to pursue a Master of Music Degree in Viola Performance from Butler University where she studied under the tutelage of Michael Strauss. She also earned a Master of Arts and Teaching degree in Instrumental Music from the University of Indianapolis and has completed training in the Suzuki Method with Sue Baer and Christie Fleming.