“The beauty of Laura van der Heijden’s playing lies in the fact that she has a wonderful expressivity, but never, ever overdoes it.”

Jane Shuttleworth, Bachtrack

Laura van der Heijden has already made a name for herself as a very special emerging talent. Having won many prizes and awards from a very young age, Laura was awarded the title of BBC Young Musician 2012 at the age of 15, performing Walton’s Cello Concerto with Kirill Karabits and the Northern Sinfonia at The Sage, Gateshead. In September 2014 Laura was awarded the Landgraf von Hessen Prize at the Kronberg Academy’s prestigious international masterclasses. In 2015, Laura was named Young Artist in Residence of the London Mozart Players. In 2016 Laura was chosen by the Orpheum Stiftung in Switzerland, a foundation encouraging and assisting exceptionally talented young instrumental soloists. Under this umbrella she appeared in recital with Fazil Say at Zürich Tonhalle in September 2016.

Born in England in 1997 as the youngest daughter of a Dutch father and a Swiss mother, Laura’s first public performance as a cellist was at the age of nine with the Jupiter Chamber Orchestra. From 2005 to 2014 Laura was a student at the Royal College of Music Junior Department.  Since 2008 Laura has been a student of the renowned British-Russian cellist Leonid Gorokhov. She is currently studying for her Bachelor’s Degree in Music at St John’s College, Cambridge, while continuing to perform during her term breaks.

In the past few years, Laura has performed with many leading UK orchestras, such as the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, European Union Chamber and English Chamber Orchestras, as well as giving her debuts in Germany, New Zealand, and in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the opening concert of the inaugural BBC Proms Australia, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

Laura’s chamber music performances have included collaborations with Tom Poster, Huw Watkins, Fazil Say, Peter Limonov, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Tobias Feldmann, Martyn Jackson, and Savitri Grier.  She has participated in masterclasses and chamber music courses with David Geringas, Ralph Kirschbaum and Milkós Perényi.

Laura van der Heijden’s 2016/17 season will feature her debut with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and performances with the Orchestra of the Swan as their Associate Artist. In December 2017 Laura will perform the Schumann cello concerto with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields as part of the “Cello Unwrapped” series at Kings Place, London.

Laura plays a 1780 cello by Joseph Hill, loaned to her by the Boileau family, and is an Ambassador for both the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts and Brighton Youth Orchestra.

MKCO > Discover MKCO > Artist Biographies > Laura van der Heijden – cello