Laura Hamilton

Laura Hamilton is currently Artistic Director and Concertmaster for the summer festival Classical Tahoe and Concertmaster for CityMusic Cleveland. Previously she was Principal Associate Concertmaster for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, where she led hundreds of performances over 33 years, including many of the MET's popular “Live in HD” videocasts. In 2014, while on leave from the MET, Laura served for one season as concertmaster at the Sydney Opera House. She has also appeared as guest concertmaster for the Seattle Symphony, American Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, and Adelaide Symphony in Australia.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Laura received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music, where she was the Nathan Milstein Scholarship recipient. She currently teaches violin and chamber music at New York University and has been a visiting instructor at New World Symphony, Manhattan School of Music, and Bel Canto Institute in Florence, Italy. In 2021, she was a juror for the 14th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Making Competition in Poznan, Poland. From 2020 to 2024, she curated the musical content for PBS Reno’s Classical Tahoe, which has also been distributed nationally by American Public Television.