Biography  
Laurence Sherr is Composer-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Music at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Grand Prize of the 1995 Delius Composition Contest for Journeys Within: Concerto for Flute and Chamber Ensemble. His compositions appear on several recent CDs. The recording by the German group “ensemble Intégrales” of his EIMI for violin, saxophone, percussion, and piano was released on the Ein-Klang label in Europe in 2007, and is available worldwide at manymusics.org. Cellist Theresa Villani included his Elegy and Vision on her 2007 Patterns of Eloquence 2-CD set, and pianist Jeri-Mae Astolfi recorded his Nocturne for solo piano for Chroma: New Music for Piano, released by Capstone Records in 2009.

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L-R: Oral Moses, vocal soloist, Sherr, conductor Bridget Reischl, after the 2008 premiere of Flame Language

 International performances of Sherr's works have been given in Holland and Switzerland, at the KOFOMI Festival and in Salzburg, Austria, at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest in Tokyo, Japan, at the Festival Internacional de Guitarra de la Habana in Cuba, and across Canada and Mexico. Canadian and Mexican performances include multiple productions at the Banff Festival of the Arts, tours of Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario, and performances at the National School of Music and San Ildefonso Museum in Mexico City. United States performances have been given at CAMI Hall and the Kitchen in New York City, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the Salvador Dali Museum, the Carter Presidential Center, and in locations such as Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Austin, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Honolulu, Omaha, Tampa, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 
Sherr has been awarded grants by the American Music Center, the American Composers Forum, Meet the Composer, the Illinois Arts Council, the Georgia Council for the Arts, the Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, and the Alliance Française d’Atlanta. He has received fellowships for composition residencies from the MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Seaside Institute, the Charles  Ives Center for American Music, the American Dance Festival, the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, and the Banff Festival of the Arts. The U.S. Department of the Interior named him Artist-in-Residence at Hot Springs National Park for June 2009.


At the 1994 Thamyris premiere of Journeys Within. L-R: Paul Brittan, Peggy Benkesser, Sherr, Laura Gordy

Commissions for new works have come from ensembles such as Thamyris and the Atlanta Chamber Players, and from organizations such as the [Jimmy] Carter Center and the Georgia Music Teachers Association. Soloists who have commissioned Sherr include guitarist Mary Akerman and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra flutist Paul Brittan. Flutist Christina Guenther commissioned his Duo Concertante in conjunction with her Florida State University doctoral treatise “Laurence Sherr: Chamber Music for Flute”.

Dr. Sherr studied at Duke University, the Vienna International Music Center, the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the founder and clarinetist of the Atlanta klezmer band Oy Klezmer!.

The creation of a medical instructional video about Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) is an effort that he instigated after his brother died from the malady. The goal of his collaboration with producer/director Robert Aller was to prevent harm and the loss of life due to NMS. Their resultant film, Detection of Suspected Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome: Three Case Examples, won a Freddie Award as best “Patient Care” Film at the 1999 International Health & Medical Film Competition sponsored by Time Inc. Health.
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