Laura Snyder, a native of New York City, says, “My goal is to be an instrument. If God has given me a gift to use, I’ll use it and take care of it.” Laura began her musical training at the prestigious High School of Music and Art in New York City, as well as the Dalcroze School of Music, studying with New York Philharmonic bassist Homer Mensch. She later attended Indiana University Jacobs School of Music on major scholarship, studying bass with both Murray Grodner and Gary Karr.
Also a trained contralto vocalist, Laura studied voice at Indiana University with Vera Scammon and Elizabeth Mannion and later continued vocal studies with Mari Taniguchi at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music.
Laura performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for an extraordinary 51 years, beginning her tenure with the orchestra in 1970 before retiring in 2021. During her remarkable career, she appeared frequently as a soloist with the orchestra under conductors including Kenneth Schermerhorn, Doc Severinsen, and Andreas Delfs. In reviewing one such performance, James Auer of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote that Laura “brought down the house” with her “sonorous, majestic contralto voice” in performances of the spirituals Steal Away and Go Down Moses, comparing her commanding stage presence to that of Marian Anderson.
In addition to her orchestral career, Laura has ministered and performed in a wide variety of churches, conferences, retreats, seminars, and tours throughout the United States and abroad. Highlights include singing at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem and appearances as soloist with the Phoenix Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Present Music, Symphony of the Mountains, and the Milwaukee Youth Orchestra’s Senior Symphony on tour in Spain and Italy. She also directed children’s musicals at Elmbrook Church for many years.
Laura’s ministry and humanitarian work have taken her across Africa, including Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi, and South Africa. Her CD Precious Lord, Take My Hand was created to benefit children living in Khayelitsha Township outside Cape Town, with all proceeds going directly to their aid. A true family project, the recording features her children Jenny, Jon, and Jared accompanying her in a collection of hymns, spirituals, and gospel songs.
An avid and beloved teacher, Laura has maintained a large private double bass studio in Milwaukee and has served on the faculties of University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Concordia University Wisconsin, and Carroll University. In 2003, she traveled to Haiti to teach double bass to underprivileged children.
Laura has received numerous honors for her artistic and community contributions, including the Milwaukee Times Newspaper’s Black Excellence Award in Music and the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee’s Distinguished Citizen Award. The United States Postal Service also honored her during Women’s History Month 2007 for her contributions to arts and entertainment in Metro Milwaukee.
Laura has three grown children; Jenny, Jon, and Jared, and a delightful grandchild, Skye. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, jigsaw puzzles, Star Trek, and spoiling her grandchild.