"It is difficult to think of anyone before the public today who equals her exceptional gifts for embracing a poetic text and giving it new and deeper life through music."Journal of Singing
Lori Laitman is one of America's most prolific and widely performed composers of vocal music. She has composed over 200 songs, setting the words of classical and contemporary poets, and has also created a unique body of music commemorating the Holocaust.
Laitman’s one-act opera, Come to Me in Dreams, was premiered by Cleveland Opera in 2004. Her full-length opera, The Scarlet Letter, (to a new libretto by decorated poet David Mason, based on the Hawthorne classic) was commissioned and performed by the University of Central Arkansas in 2008. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette wrote: "Composer Lori Laitman has written gorgeous music that works hand-in-glove with the words of librettist David Mason and underpins the very essence of this psychological-social drama...the few arias are at key moments and are stunningly effective."
2010 sees Lori Laitman gaining additional prominence in new and exciting projects. Laitman was the Featured Composer on Thomas Hampson’sSong of America website (www.songofamerica.net), and her works are featuredon his timeline of American song. The Sorel Organization, dedicated to creating opportunities for women in music, has commissioned a new work from Laitman to premiere at the New Triad for Collaborative Arts’ showcase of Laitman’s music this summer at SongFest in Malibu, CA.
May 2010 brings Laitman’s oratorio, Vedem, to the stage, another collaboration with poet David Mason. The oratorio, commissioned by Music of Remembrance, tells the story of the boys of Terezin and their secret journal. The work will be featured in a documentary by award-winning filmmaker John Sharify. Additionally, Laitman and Mason are poised to begin work on a new opera, based on Mason’s epic verse novel, Ludlow.
Many of Laitman’s songs have already entered the standard repertoire. Among these, Laitman’s settings of Sutzkever’s poems from the Vilna ghetto, the cycle The Seed of Dream (2004), is enjoying performances worldwide. Acclaimed baritone Wolfgang Holzmair performed the cycle in his native Austria in 2009 and has recently commissioned a new work from the composer. The cycle, released on Naxos, was pronounced "a masterpiece that should not be missed!” (Sharon Mabry, Journal of Singing).
Since launching her career in 1991, Laitman’s music has been performed frequently in the U.S. and abroad. Her discography also continues to grow, with releases on Albany Records, Naxos, Channel Classics and other labels. Her latest solo CD, Within These Spaces (2009), is receiving exceptional praise: “One hundred years hence, when critics look back at the art songs of our era, there will be many fine composers to laud and applaud, but few will deserve higher praise than Lori Laitman.”(The Journal of Singing); “This is music of depth and richness that connects with the soul.” (American Record Guide);“Her affinity for the voice…is beyond doubt…her songs represent outpourings of great beauty.” (Fanfare Magazine).
Laitman graduated magna cum laude from Yale College and received her Master of Music degree in flute performance from The Yale School of Music. Her recordings are available on her website, www.artsongs.com, as well as Amazon and ITunes.
Laitman is represented by Jona Rapoport Artist Management.
Click here for a Youtube link to Baritone Stein Skjervold (Norway) in performance of Laitman's song cycle The Seed of Dream in Vilnius, Lithuania, 2009.
"It is difficult to think of anyone before the public today who equals her exceptional gifts for embracing a poetic text and giving it new and deeper life through music." Journal of Singing
Lori Laitman is one of America's most prolific and widely performed composers of vocal music. She has composed over 200 songs, setting the words of classical and contemporary poets, and has also created a unique body of music commemorating the Holocaust. 
