Laura is currently working as a freelance musician and teaching artist with an emphasis in Romani (gypsy) & Balkan music, primarily the musical traditions of Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Turkey. While at California Institute of the Arts earning her second master’s degree, she studied improvisation and Balkan tradition under world-renowned guitarist Miroslav Tadic and Alexander Technique/Bulgarian folk music under Ms. Kate Conklin. She holds an M.M. in violin performance, magna cum laude, from Ohio University under the instruction of violinist, Marjorie Bagley and a B.A. in music, cum laude, from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where she played in the Shepherd School Symphony for four years under the direction of maestro, Larry Rachleff. At O.U., Laura was a concerto competition recipient and performed Ravel’s Tzigane "Tzigane" under the direction of Steven Huang. Before moving to California, Laura was contracted as a first violinist of the West Virginia Symphony and also subbed with the Charleston Symphony in Charleston, South Carolina.

Currently she resides in Santa Barbara where she plays in a new ensemble entitled "The Village Idioms" with Jim Grippo (qanun), Colter Frazier (bass), and Will McClintock (tupan).

While Laura’s initial training focused primarily on classical music, her interest in world music genres led her first to the Los Angeles area and then to Eastern Europe. Laura was rewarded a J. William Fulbright Award Recipient to Bulgaria for 2010-11 where she studied Bulgarian folk music and culture at the Academy of Music,Dance, and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. While in Europe, Laura played & performed with Sofia Högstadius (violin) and Valeri Dimchev (tambura) both in Bulgaria and in Umeå, Sweden (European Capitol of Culture 2014) at the Umefolk Festival. Laura was also featured on Bulgarian radio and national television,and in Sweden on Swedish Radio and Television.

Laura's current projects include playing in a four-piece Balkan ensemble entitled The Village Idioms with Jim Grippo (qanun), ColterFrazier (bass), and Will McClintock (tupan) in Santa Barbara, studying the music of Moldova with Marin Bunea in Chisinau, Moldova, learning Turkish Roman music with fiddler Hüsnü Tuzsuz and Roman dance with wife, Reyhan Tuzsuz in Istanbul.