Anne Laver
Setnor School of Music
Associate Professor, Applied Music and Performance (Organ)
University Organist
Keyboard Studies Area Co-coordinator
In 2010, she was awarded second prize in the prestigious American Guild of Organists’ National Young Artist Competition in Organ Performance (NYACOP). Laver's performances have been aired on radio programs including "The Organ Loft" on the Pacific Northwest’s Classic KING FM, American Public Media’s "Pipedreams," WXXI Public Broadcasting’s "With Heart and Voice," and Nebraska Public Radio’s "Nebraska Concerts" series. She released her debut recording, “Reflections of Light,” on the Loft label in March 2019.
Laver is associate professor of organ and University organist at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music. In this role, she teaches organ lessons and classes, serves as artistic director for the Malmgren Concert Series, accompanies the Hendricks Chapel Choir, and plays for chapel worship services and special University events. Prior to her appointment at Syracuse, Laver served as instructor of healthy keyboard technique and organ repertoire and coordinator of organ outreach programs at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. She returned to the Eastman faculty as visiting professor of organ in fall of 2020. Laver has over 20 years of experience in church music, having led volunteer and professional choir programs in a variety of parishes in upstate New York, Wisconsin, and The Netherlands.
Laver is passionate about advocacy for the organ and the encouragement of young organists. To that end, she has served as director for various youth programs in the Rochester area, including a Pipe Organ Encounter Advanced in 2013, the Eastman Summer Organ Academy in 2014, and a Summer of Opportunity youth employment program for city youth in 2014. She also hosts frequent organ demonstrations on the Syracuse University campus and surrounding community. Laver is active on a number of national and local organizations in the organ field. She is chair of the Editorial Resources Committee of the American Guild of Organists, member of the board of directors of the Organ Historical Society, former secretary of the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies, and coordinator for the annual Arthur Poister Scholarship Competition in Organ Performance.
Laver studied organ with Mark Steinbach as an undergraduate student at Brown University and spent a year in The Netherlands studying with Jacques van Oortmerssen at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. While pursuing master's and doctoral degrees at the Eastman School of Music, she studied with Hans Davidsson, William Porter, and David Higgs.
Education
- D.M.A., M.M., Eastman School of Music
- B.A., Brown University