Laura Jurd

Biography

Laura Jurd is a trumpet player, composer and improviser from the UK. A recipient of multiple awards, including a 2019 Ivor Composer Award and a BBC New Generation Artist from 2015-2017, Laura has developed a formidable reputation as one of the most distinctive and creative composer-performers to emerge from the UK in recent years.

Performing regularly throughout the UK and Europe, she leads the 2017 Mercury-nominated band Dinosaur who have performed at North Sea, Montreal and Molde International Jazz festivals to name a few. A highly active composer, Laura’s is equally at home writing for contemporary chamber groups and orchestras as she is writing for jazz ensembles and improvising musicians. Frequently creating works that present musical ingredients from outside the world of jazz music, within the realms of a jazz band, she has by been commissioned by the likes of the BBC Proms and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Ligeti Quartet and the Northern Sinfonia.

A passionate educator, Laura is also a professor of composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance; jazz trumpet teacher at Goldsmiths University; co-leads the Trinity Laban Jazz Orchestra and works regularly with the National Youth Jazz Collective.