Laura Jesson

Laura Jesson (they/them) is a Los Angeles viola performer and is honored to be joining the Unbound Symphony. In the greater Southern California area, Laura is a performer with many groups, including serving as assistant principal viola with both the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra and the Westside Chamber Orchestra. They also perform with the San Luis Obispo Symphony, the Downey Symphony, the St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Los Angeles, and the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic. They are the sole viola player for the mixed instrument chamber ensemble HELIX Collective. In the summer of 2024, they performed with the International Pride Orchestra in New York. 

Laura’s work can be heard on the score of Universal Pictures’ Girls Trip and can be seen on the television shows The Fosters and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Laura enjoys playing for the Mission Opera, where professional and amateur singers perform side by side. Laura is also a featured performer with the Night Temple, where new film composers’ works are performed and recorded. Laura is an orchestral musician with several choirs, including the Choral Society, the Santa Clarita Master Chorale, and the Los Cancioneros Master Chorale. In addition to their performance career, Laura proudly serves as the orchestra manager and music librarian for the Downey Symphony and the music librarian for the St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra. 

Laura studied with Roger Myers at the University of Texas, Austin, and with Donald McInnes at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. Additionally, Laura was a fellow at the Aspen Festival and School and a fellow two summers at the Music Academy of the West. Laura was the only violist chosen to be a Gold Coast Chamber Music Festival Emerging Artist.

In their free time, Laura is an amateur chorister with the West Coast Singers of Los Angeles, a coffee aficionado, and a frequent walker in many Los Angeles parks.