Laura Conway

Laura is from Littleborough, Greater Manchester and began playing the cornet at the age of six.
Growing up, Laura was principal cornet of the award-winning Wardle Academy Youth Band for five years under the direction of Lee Rigg. At the age of 18, Laura moved to Norway to undertake a one-year brass band course at Manger Folkehøgskule where she was tutored by Jane Westervik and Henning Anundsen. During her studies, Laura also travelled to Bergen to play for Manger Musikklag and held both repiano and solo cornet positions. She performed in Norway’s most prestigious contests – the Norwegian Nationals and Siddis Brass. Upon her return to the UK in 2017, Laura became the repiano cornet player of the Fairey Band – a position she held for one year. In 2018, Laura accepted an invitation to join the Black Dyke Band where she currently holds the repiano cornet position after being promoted from second cornet in 2021.
Laura’s dedication to brass banding has taken her to some of the UK’s leading concert venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Symphony Hall, Bridgewater Hall, The Sage, Perth Concert Hall and Snape Maltings, in addition to performing overseas in France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Norway, Japan, South Korea and Jeju Island.

In July 2021, Laura graduated with First Class Honours from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) where she studied cornet, trumpet and flugel under the tutorship of Richard Marshall, Professor Roger Webster and Tracey Redfern. During her time at the college, she discovered her enthusiasm for chamber music and subsequently co-founded Northern Quarters with Tom Smith, Emma Conway and Amy Ewen.

Since graduating from the RNCM, Laura has completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Education with Qualified Teacher Status accredited by Sheffield Hallam University and is now enjoying a career in primary education alongside performing with the Black Dyke Band and Northern Quarters.