Laura van der Heijden

Admired for her captivating sonority and creative programming, Laura van der Heijden has emerged as one of the leading cellists of her generation. Her first album with Chandos Records, “Pohádka” was released in 2022 to critical acclaim.

Highlights of the coming season include touring with the Brno Philharmonic (Martinů), BBC Symphony at the Barbican as part of the George Walker ‘Total Immersion’ project conducted by Alpesh Chauhan, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Scottish with the World Premiere of a new work by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, she will tour the US with the Keleidoscope Chamber Collective,  and is also Artist in Focus at King’s Place, London performing in two contrasting chamber music recitals and CPE Bach with the Aurora Orchestra. She also gives solo and chamber recitals at Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham Music Festival and at the Bad Kissingen Festival as part of a trio ensemble.

Her engagements in recent years include concerts with leading orchestras such as Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Royal and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, European Union Chamber and English Chamber Orchestras, New Zealand Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra at the 2018 BBC Proms, and with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the opening concert of the inaugural BBC Proms Australia. She has performed at venues including the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Amsterdam’s Het Concertgebouw, Opernhaus Zürich, Wigmore Hall, LSO St Luke’s, Leeds Town Hall, Usher Hall Edinburgh, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Smetana Hall Prague, Snape Maltings, Saffron Hall, Kings Place and St George’s Bristol. She has made numerous appearances on BBC Radio 3 In Tune, and has worked with such distinguished musicians as Sir Andrew Davis, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Kirill Karabits, Ryan Wigglesworth, Huw Watkins, Krzysztof Chorzelski, the Redon Quartet and the Brodsky Quartet.

Laura was the winner of the BBC Young Musician competition aged 15. Her 2018 debut album 1948 won the 2018 Edison Klassiek Award and the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Newcomer of the Year Award. The disc, featuring Russian music for cello and piano with pianist Petr Limonov, has been hailed as a “a thought-provoking debut disc from an impressive and intelligent young cellist” (Gramophone).

Also a passionate chamber musician, Laura is a key member of the member of the critically-acclaimed Kaleidoscope Collective alongside Tom Poster and Elena Urioste, who perform a wide variety of captivating repertoire across the UK and beyond with highlights this season including the Wigmore Hall and their debut US tour. She also regularly collaborates with the likes of Jâms Coleman, Timothy Ridout, Katya Apekisheva and Max Baillie, and has given recitals at the Wigmore Hall, West Cork and Beverley Chamber Music Festivals, Harrogate International Festival, the Cheltenham Festival, Music In The Round, Oxford’s Holywell Music Room and at the Oxford Lieder Festival. In Summer 2023 she will also perfom in the Miesbach Festival, Germany.

Laura is a graduate of St John’s College, Cambridge and currently studying for a Masters with Antje Weithaas at the Hans Eisler in Berlin. She plays a late 17th-century cello by Francesco Ruggieri of Cremona, on generous loan from a private collection.

Artist Website: www.lauravanderheijden.org

Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact James Brown Management to ensure that you receive the most up to date version.  Email: Andrea McDermott