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We live in an exciting time, with diverse opportunities to express our deepest creativity through music. I am passionate about preparing and inspiring my students for today’s musical climate and for helping them tap into their unique musical expressions. The Frost School of Music’s innovative and interdisciplinary approach is the perfect place for students to learn the necessary skills to thrive, as well as experience a fertile, supportive environment in which to grow.

Biography

Dr. Laura Sherman is the full-time lecturer in harp, music theory and chamber music at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami. After thirty-four years as a highly sought-after performer, teacher, writer, editor, and publisher in New York City, Dr. Sherman is thrilled to share her diverse knowledge and experiences with the students at the Frost School of Music.
 
As a performer, Dr. Sherman has played with many top freelance orchestras (including the New York City Ballet, American Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony), with many Broadway shows (including fifteen years as the harpist at “Wicked”), and repeat visits at three summer festivals (Spoleto USA, Spoleto Italy, and Opera North in New Hampshire). She can be heard on numerous recordings, including diverse films and commercials, Barbra Streisand’s 2006 live recording and DVD, Meredith Monk’s 2016 recording, “On Behalf of Nature,” and on two Grammy award-winning cast recordings, “Wicked” and “Hamilton.” Dr. Sherman also toured nationally and internationally with Barbra Streisand and with three Broadway shows, as well as performed numerous solo and chamber music recitals in the New York City area.

Currently, Dr. Sherman is the principal harpist of the Palm Beach Symphony (Gerard Schwarz, music director), Florida Grand Opera, Nu Deco Ensemble (Jacomo Bairos, music director), and the Symphony of the Americas (Pablo Mielgo, music director). She also continues to play with the Opera North Summer Festival in New Hampshire.
 
As a writer and editor, Dr. Sherman’s articles have appeared in The American Harp Journal, the World Harp Congress Review, the Historical Harp Society Bulletin, the Harp Column magazine, and Musical America. She served on The American Harp Journal editing committee from 2015-16 and was the interim editor of The American Harp Journal for three issues: Summer 2017, Fall 2018 and Summer 2020. Dr. Sherman has twice served as a judge for the American Harp Society’s National Conferences, in 2021 and 2023.
 
A specialist in transcribing and performing J.S. Bach’s music on the harp, Dr. Sherman has given master-classes, lectures, and recitals at national and international harp conferences, as well as at colleges and music schools in the United States. Most recently, she gave presentations for the “Hangin with the Harp” series through the Atlanta Harp Center and “The Beauty of the Harp” series. (Video recordings of both can be found on YouTube.) At the Frost School of Music, Dr. Sherman teaches her popular “Bach for Performers” graduate seminar, which is open to all instrumentalists and vocalists. (She also teaches an “Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis” graduate seminar each spring.)
 
In 2012, Dr. Sherman founded Gotham Harp Publishing, a harp music publishing company specializing in historically informed transcriptions of early music and new works by contemporary composers. Her GHP Bach Lute Suite editions were recently included on the 2023 AHS Competition repertoire list, as well as on the national harp syllabus in Australia.
 
Dr. Sherman has been featured in Allegro magazine (the publication for Local 802, New York City, American Federation of Musicians) in November 2015, in the Harp Column’s July/August 2012 print issue, as well as their January 2016 podcast. She has been a voting member of the Recording Academy/GRAMMYS since 2020. 

(Photo credit: Gonzalo Mejia)

Laura Sherman

Lecturer

University of Miami

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