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| Laurence Sherr is Composer-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Music at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta. Honors and awards include top prizes in the Delius Composition Contest and the composition competition of the Association for the Promotion of New Music in New York City. Recent recordings include Jeri-Mae Astolfi's interpretation of his Nocturne on Chroma: New Music for Piano, released by Capstone Records in 2009. EIMI for violin, saxophone, percussion, and piano, in a live recording by the German group “ensemble Intégrales”, was released on the Ein-Klang label in Europe in 2007. Cellist Theresa Villani included his Elegy and Vision on her 2007 recording Patterns of Eloquence. |  Airi Yoshioka after performance of Four Short Pieces, prize-winner's concert of Association for the Promotion of New Music, New York City, 2009 |
 L-R: Oral Moses, vocal soloist, Sherr, conductor Bridget Reischl, after the 2008 premiere of Flame Language a |
International performances of Sherr's works have been produced in Germany, the Czech Republic, Holland, and Switzerland, at the KOFOMI Festival in Austria, at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest in Tokyo, Japan, and at the Festival Internacional de Guitarra de la Habana in Cuba. Canadian and Mexican performances include 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 occurred 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, Philadelphia, San Diego, Dallas, Austin, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Honolulu, Omaha, and Milwaukee. |
| The creation of Holocaust memorial compositions has been a central focus of his recent work, and his composition Flame Language was a top prizewinner in the 2010 Classical Lounge national competition. His Holocaust memorial compositions works have been performed in Germany, the Czech Republic, and the U.S., often in connection with his lectures and presentations on music and the Holocaust. Sherr’s purpose is to foster greater understanding and tolerance. His 2009 concert and educational activities in Germany, produced in collaboration with the children of the generation who persecuted his mother and her family, led to reconciliation and healing. |  Presentation on the life and work of Nelly Sachs to introduce Flame Language in Prague, with Inka Jurkova, Czech interpreter, 2011 |
 Presenting Ouachita Waters to Hot Springs National Park Superintendant Josie Fernandez, 2009 |
Sherr has been awarded grants by the American Music Center, American Composers Forum, Meet the Composer, Illinois Arts Council, Georgia Council for the Arts, Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, and Alliance Française d’Atlanta. He has received fellowships for composition residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Seaside Institute, Charles Ives Center for American Music, American Dance Festival, Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, and 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 |
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 Georgia Music Teachers Association. Soloists who have commissioned Sherr include Atlanta Symphony Orchestra flutist Paul Brittan and guitarist Mary Akerman. 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! |
 At the 1994 Thamyris premiere of Journeys Within. L-R: Paul Brittan, Peggy Benkesser, Sherr, Laura Gordy a |
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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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