About:
“She plays beautifully, with enviable control and supple phrasing,” says Sequenza21 of flutist Laura Lentz.  Ms. Lentz,  hailed for her “striking, meticulous flute playing,” is praised by audiences and composers for her “incredible, gorgeous tone.” She has a deep commitment to sharing the work of today’s most forward-thinking composers and is dedicated to both performance and mentorship through her work as a soloist, collaborator, and teacher. 

Ms. Lentz has commissioned, recorded, and premiered dozens of new works as a member of the new music ensemble fivebyfive or as soloist, including music by JacobTV, Sean William Calhoun, Kennedy Dixon, Edie Hill,  Chloe Upshaw, Jon Russell, Andrea Mazzariello, Roberto Sierra, Jessica Meyer, Emily Pinkerton, Anthony R. Green, Kamala Sankaram, Glenn McClure, Kari Telstad Sundet, Marc Mellits,  Evan Williams, and Amy Nam thanks to a Chamber Music America Commissioning Grant. fivebyfive has received additional funding and recognition from Rochester Community Foundation, New Music USA and New York State Council on the Arts for its work.

Ms. Lentz gave the world premiere of JacobTV’s Serendipity2 for alto flute, string quartet, and tabla with the Beo String Quartet, as well as versions of Discrete Structures by Marc Mellits for flute and piano (which appeared on Performance Today) and flute & string quartet. Recordings of both works as well as music of Gabriela Lena Frank and Missy Mazzoli are supported by funding from Netherlands American Foundation, Genesee Valley Council on the Arts and individual supporters.

Ms. Lentz is highly regarded for her applied flute teaching, insightful master classes, and arts leadership courses, and she has served as a mentor to music students at Nazareth University, Eastman School of Music, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Eastman Community Music School.  In a related realm, Ms. Lentz shares her “Insightful Creative” and “Spark a Sense of Discovery in Your Playing,” workshops, drawing from both her blog featuring interviews with artists as well as her published book Modal Flute Warmup (Conway Publications, Dec. 2023). Ms. Lentz is also a certified music educator and taught in an international school in Rome, Italy for six years.

Ms. Lentz has recorded on the Bright Shiny Things and Blue on Blue labels, and has also independently released recordings, including her most recent recording, Discrete Structures.

She received her Master of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying with Stephanie Jutt, and her Bachelor of Music degree from the Crane School of Music as a student of Ken Andrews. She also has studied with Alberto Almarza, Tadeu Coehlo, Francesca Arnone, and Francesca Staderini, and has played in masterclasses for Marina Piccinini andJeffrey Khaner. Ms. Lentz is currently based in Rochester, NY.