Laurin Talese
Adjunct Professor
Laurin Talese is an actor, a composer, a lyricist, a teaching artist, and a vocalist.
Biography
Laurin Talese has been captivating audiences with her pure tone and poignant lyrics since childhood. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Talese was classically trained at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Cleveland School of the Arts, and later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from UArts.
Talese is proud to represent the U.S. as a cultural ambassador with American Music Abroad, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by the Association of American Voices. Following in the footsteps of former Ambassadors Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Dave Brubeck, Talese performs for international audiences and leads masterclasses and educational workshops to bring jazz to new populations throughout Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe. However, Talese also enjoys serving her local community on a variety of boards, including the Recording Academy’s Philadelphia Chapter, for which she has served as vice president and currently serves as governor; Jazz Philadelphia as vice chair; and UArts’ Alumni Council.
Experience
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Her debut album, Gorgeous Chaos, was produced by Adam Blackstone ’04 (Bass) and released in 2016 and features a stellar lineup of musicians including Christian McBride, Adam Blackstone, and Vivian Green and was met with wide acclaim.
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Talese’s talents have allowed her to travel around the globe, performing in a host of internationally renowned venues and events, including the Newport Jazz Festival, Rhode Island; Jazz at Lincoln Center, Shanghai; Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.; and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, in 2018, when she won the seventh annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
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In 2021, Laurin Talese made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut, performing repertoire, including her original composition “This Love,” and conducted by Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin.
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In 2022, Talese premiered her newest work, Museum of Living Stories, commissioned by Chamber Music America at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
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In 2023, she made her theatrical debut, starring as Billie Holiday in Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grille by Philadelphia Theatre Company.
Visit Laurin Talese’s website.
Awards & Accolades
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Talese is the winner of the seventh annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition (2018).