Dr. Laura Joella
DMA, Michigan State University
Instructor of Music
DMA, Michigan State University
Instructor of Music
Areas of Expertise
• Conducting
• Double Bass
• Music History
• Conducting
• Double Bass
• Music History
Dr. Laura Joella
Dr. Laura Joella, a second generation conductor, is the Director of Orchestral Studies and an
Assistant Professor of Music at Florida Atlantic University. She has been the Music
Director/Conductor of FAU’s Symphony Orchestra since May of 2005. Dr. Joella is also the Music
Director/Conductor of New England Music Camp’s Concert Orchestra in Sidney, Maine. Dr.
Joella’s previous posts include Music Director/Conductor of the Mason Orchestral Society in
Mason, Michigan including both the Community Orchestra and the Youth Symphony; Conductor for the
Michigan State University Concert Orchestra; and Assistant Instructor of Strings at Michigan
State University School of Music in East Lansing, Michigan.
Dr. Joella received both her Doctor of Musial Arts and Master of Music degrees in Orchestral Conducting from Michigan State University. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance with a dual concentration in Double Bass and Saxophone, as well as her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania. She was a participating conductor at the Naples Philharmonic Conductor’s Institute. She studied and conducted at the Conductor's Institute at Spoleto USA, and the Conductor's Institute of South Carolina. She spent a summer at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestral Musicians. Dr. Joella has had considerable experience conducting in secondary schools in Florida, Michigan, California, and Pennsylvania. As a guest conductor, she has appeared with the Wind Symphony of Florida; the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 8 Orchestra Festival; the Portland Orchestral Society in Michigan; the Michigan State University Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras; and the Lake Orion School District Orchestra Festival in Michigan. Dr. Joella has studied conducting with Professor Leon Gregorian and Dr. Raphael Jimenez at Michigan State University; with Jorge Mester at the Naples Philharmonic Conductor’s Institute; with Donald Portnoy, Paul Vermel, Kate Tamarkin, Peter Jaffe, and Samuel Jones at the Conductor’s Institute of South Carolina; privately with Andrew Robinson; and in a master class with Kevin Rhodes.
Dr. Joella received both her Doctor of Musial Arts and Master of Music degrees in Orchestral Conducting from Michigan State University. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance with a dual concentration in Double Bass and Saxophone, as well as her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania. She was a participating conductor at the Naples Philharmonic Conductor’s Institute. She studied and conducted at the Conductor's Institute at Spoleto USA, and the Conductor's Institute of South Carolina. She spent a summer at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestral Musicians. Dr. Joella has had considerable experience conducting in secondary schools in Florida, Michigan, California, and Pennsylvania. As a guest conductor, she has appeared with the Wind Symphony of Florida; the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 8 Orchestra Festival; the Portland Orchestral Society in Michigan; the Michigan State University Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras; and the Lake Orion School District Orchestra Festival in Michigan. Dr. Joella has studied conducting with Professor Leon Gregorian and Dr. Raphael Jimenez at Michigan State University; with Jorge Mester at the Naples Philharmonic Conductor’s Institute; with Donald Portnoy, Paul Vermel, Kate Tamarkin, Peter Jaffe, and Samuel Jones at the Conductor’s Institute of South Carolina; privately with Andrew Robinson; and in a master class with Kevin Rhodes.