About Lauren
Lauren Spavelko (b. 1989) is a composer, educator, performer, and visual artist in Columbus, Ohio.
From the serious to the lighthearted, Spavelko's work inspires deeper connections with one another and ourselves. In equal measure, listeners can find play, curiosity, joy, sensitivity, and empathy.
Her works have been performed across the United States, as well as in Italy, Singapore, and Canada.
She has been commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Central Ohio Symphony, the Johnstone Fund for New Music, and numerous artists & performing ensembles. She arranged Orphée+ with Opera Columbus.
Spavelko has won multiple awards, including the 2017 Gian Carlo Menotti Young Composers Prize in Spoleto, Italy (Baby Book) and the Ruth Anderson Commission Prize from IAWM (Black Box 2.0).
She has been a finalist for the NATS Art Song Composition Award (Baby Book) and for the American Prize in Vocal Chamber Music (Baby Book and From Edna, With Love) and Orchestral Music. (Kéyah)
In addition to composing, Spavelko is a gifted educator.
She operates Musical Life, where she offers lessons in voice, piano, violin, & composition. She is a part-time professor at Otterbein University, where she teaches theory & piano skills for musical theater.
She also presents as a guest composer in K-12 classrooms, designs youth composition workshops, composes for youth ensembles, and delivers lectures on solo entrepreneurship for college students.
Lauren Spavelko performs as a vocalist, violinist, and pianist in both classical and commercial productions. She enjoys collaborating with artists and organizations in Columbus and the greater region. She has performed with opera workshops, professional choirs, chambers orchestras, and as a soloist.
(Learn more and see her work on her performance page.)
From 2012-2014, Lauren toured with internationally-renowned artist Tajci and manager/producer Matthew Cameron, performing in 100+ concerts as a violinist and vocalist, and learning about concert production, sales, and logistics.
She is a co-coordinator of the Institute for Composer Diversity's chamber music database and a board member of Converging Arts Columbus and the Central Ohio Hot Jazz Society.
Spavelko is a graduate of the University of Louisville (M.M. Composition) and Ohio Wesleyan University (B.M. Music Education). She has studied composition with Steve Rouse, Clint Needham, and Jason Bahr.
She values a balanced life rich in creative work, friendship, self-exploration, and play, and she desires the same for other artists.
You can hear her laughing through Columbus while swing dancing, singing and fiddling, practicing yoga, painting, and making a joyful raucous with her circle.