Laura Barger is a pianist devoted to the exploration and creation of new music. She is a founding member of the piano-percussion quartet, Yarn/Wire, described as “fearless” and “restlessly curious” in their creation of new musical experiences for New York audiences (TimeOutNY). Also praised for their “mesmerizing” performances (NY Times),Yarn/Wire has been featured internationally at the Lincoln Center Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Barbican Centre (London), Shanghai Symphony Hall, Library of Congress, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Festival of New American Music, Unruly Music Festival, April in Santa Cruz, and has been in residence at leading universities such as Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia. In July 2015, the quartet launched the first edition of the Yarn/Wire/Institute at Stony Brook University, an intensive summer program devoted to chamber music of the 20th and 21st century.

Beyond Yarn/Wire, Laura is a frequent collaborator with the Wet Ink Large Ensemble, and performs in the Key_String Duo with guitarist Giacomo Baldelli . She also serves as music director and pianist in Miller Theatre at Columbia University’s ongoing staged production of Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. Laura has performed through the US, Canada, and Europe as a soloist and with various projects, including the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Talujon Percussion, Talea Ensemble, Argento Ensemble, and with pianist Isabelle O’Connell, and has appeared at major venues and festivals such as the National Gallery of Ireland, Festival di Bellagio e Lago di Como, Västeras Concert House, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. From 2006-2010, she was part of Dream Seminar (Companion Star Productions), an experimental opera project based on the work of Nobel-Prize winning Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer.

A native of Chattanooga, TN, Laura holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (BM) and Stony Brook University (MM, DMA), and is an alumna of the Lucerne Festival Academy, Darmstadt International Summer Course for New Music, and Bang on a Can Institute. She is currently on faculty at the City University of New York (John Jay College), and serves as accompanist for the New York City Master Chorale.