Lauren Spaulding
Lauren Spaulding, under the alias of @MonochromeViola, has established herself as a rising genre-defying soloist and chamber musician through her “anonymous practice blog” on instagram. Spaulding, a Texas native, studied under the tutelage of Professor Peter Slowik at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and has worked with Geraldine Walther of the Takács Quartet, Roger Tapping of the Juilliard String Quartet, and soloist Nobuko Imai.
Spaulding is currently in residence at the University of Maryland as the violist of the acclaimed Thalea String Quartet. Additionally, Lauren is a member of Meredith Monk’s contemporary performance ensemble, a regular with the Colorado Symphony, an award winning studio recording artist, and Principal Violist and Festival Artist of the Colorado MahlerFest. Spaulding is the co-founder of the Tallā Rouge Viola Duo (www.tallarouge.com) with fellow violist Aria Cheregosha. Tallā Rouge, a Cajun & Persian viola duo, inspires composers from around the world to explore the virtuosity and beauty of the unusual instrument pairing across genres. In summer 2021, Spaulding attended Yellow Barn as a featured festival artist, and placed as Finalist for the International Music Grand Prix competition held at Carnegie Hall.
Holding the belief that “good music is good music”, Spaulding uses her love for genre-bending performance to question the societal perception of classical music and to advocate for composers of all genders, identities, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Having struggled with learning disabilities and gender identity in her youth, Spaulding holds a special passion for inspiring young neuro-atypical and LGBTQ+ musicians to pursue the arts. Additionally, Spaulding works as Co-Chapter head for ‘Music for Food’, an initiative battling food insecurity by creating meals from music (www.musicforfood.net). In 2012, Spaulding was invited to perform at the White House for President Obama for her social advocacy through music as a “Champion of Change.”
Spaulding has performed chamber music alongside Don Weilerstein, Carolin Widmann, Lawerence Lesser, Jorja Fleezanis and has performed with members of the Cavani Quartet, Orpheus, Imani Winds, the Brentano Quartet, the Tesla Quartet, the Rolston Quartet, the Takács Quartet, the Pro Arte Quartet, and members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the London Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Ballet, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the English Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra.