Laura Matthews is a recent alum from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. She graduated summa cum laude with degrees in music education and viola performance. Additionally, Matthews graduated with honors as a SUNY Potsdam Presidential Scholar through her research project entitled ‘Diversity and Inclusion in the NYSSMA Strings Manual’, which was presented at the 2021 NYSSMA All-State Conference. Her work aims to promote underrepresented composers and make their works more accessible to students by including more repertoire to the NYSSMA manual. Furthermore, Laura Matthews is an ESYO alum, participating in the program for 6 years until graduating in 2018. She is honored to be giving back to this organization by working as a teaching artist through ESYO’s CHIME program. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her puppy, learning fiddle tunes, crocheting, and reading.
