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Laura Payne MM
Orchestra, Adjunct Lecturer
Contact Information
Academic Divisions
Music ProgramEducation
MM, Butler University, Music Education, 1992; BM, Butler University, Music Education, 1981Biography
As a lifelong music educator, Laura Payne brings 36 years of classroom experience teaching orchestra, as well as private instruction on piano, violin, viola, cello, and string bass, to Western Colorado University. She moved to the Western Slope in 2021 and has been Director of the Valley Youth Orchestra since January 2022. Before moving to Colorado, Ms. Payne was the Director of Orchestras for 20 years at Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis, Indiana. She developed curriculum for AP Music Theory and Music History classes at HCS, was active in the American String Teachers Association Indiana chapter, and was an adjudicator for Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) group and solo/ensemble competitions. She had the opportunity to develop a new orchestra program in Noblesville, Indiana, where she taught for 12 years. During that time her high school orchestra grew from a 10-member ensemble to multiple orchestras of over 80 students.
She taught general music and elementary strings early in her career in Bloomington, Indiana, and Marana, Arizona. Laura currently plays string bass in the Valley Symphony Orchestra. She was a Carmel Symphony Orchestra (Carmel, Indiana) string bass section member for 33 years. She was CSO’s Education Director for 15 years and developed projects that included Sounds Exciting! Educational concerts, Young Artist Concerto competition, and the Family Fun concert series. She also held positions of Librarian and Personnel Manager during her time performing with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra. Laura has extensive experience conducting and accompanying over 25 Broadway musicals while teaching at Heritage Christian and Noblesville High Schools. She is thankful to have been in a career that spans decades of sharing the joy of music with students who continue to make music a part of their lives, and is so proud of former students who now teach music across the United States. Ms. Payne earned her Bachelor of Music and Master’s in Music Education from Butler University (Indianapolis, Indiana).