Welcome!
I'm an internationally touring violinist and violist, passionate about exploring the range of emotions and genres a bowed-stringed instrument is capable of.
Whether I'm performing on stage or at an event, with a student, or in the recording studio, I enjoy diving into the creative unknown. From interpreting a Classical masterwork, to arranging a fiddle tune, or composing string parts for a singer-songwriter, I love bringing notes to life.
Born and raised in Monterey, California and based in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I've been performing around the California Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area since I was a teenager, and have spent the last several years extensively touring North America and Europe with Canadian songwriter Dan Frechette as our duo Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen. We released our fifth album, "After the Fire," in 2022.
As a young teen in 1996, my first student approached me about taking lessons and I fell IN LOVE with teaching. As reported by the New York Times, in 2009 I expanded my studio to embrace online students as one of the earliest music teachers offering lessons via Skype. I have since enjoyed troubleshooting challenges and inspiring dedicated violin, viola, fiddle, and cello students in dozens of countries and on every continent except Antarctica.
"Deft, elegant violin."
Cashbox Magazine
I have been honored to have had dozens of my technique and practice articles published in Strings and Fiddler magazines, and my passion for sharing the tips and insight I've discovered along the way led me to create the Violin Geek Blog, Violin Geek Podcast, and to date, three online courses addressing common technical challenges, such as vibrato, bowing, shifting, and intonation, in ways which use our natural biomechanics to our advantage.
Please enjoy my site, and be in touch if you'd like to book me for a concert, event, or recording session, are interested in violin, viola, fiddle, or cello lessons, have a question or a topic you'd like me to address in my blog or podcast, or would just like to say hello!
Musically,
Laurel
Enjoy my latest music video
Gain insight through my Violin Geek Blog
- Teacher Question: Should I always force my students to memorize?
- Laurel's Top Tip for Making a Practice Habit Stick
- Functional Fitness for Musicians
- Parent Question: Should I force my kid to play with good technique?
- How Do I Get Out of Pain? - Playing Health in the Spotlight
- Adult Students: Harness the learning potential of a child
- Student Question: Should left handed students learn to play violin the opposite way?
- Tips for purchasing a playable violin, viola, or cello
Learn with my latest instructional video
Ready to demystify technique and take your violin or viola playing to the next level?
Click here to learn more about lessons, or to schedule a complimentary consultation.
Laurel ThomsenViolin, Viola, Vocals
Performance, Instruction, Recording
Based in Santa Cruz, California
"After the Fire" - released January 21, 2022!
We began recording this album in late July 2020, under California’s Covid–19 stay-at-home order, in Dan’s Bonny Doon home studio, The Shed. We were wrapping up by mid-August, but then a heatwave and extremely unusual lightning storm sparked a fast-moving forest fire. Completed after our evacuation to the safe haven of a friend’s home, After the Fire marks the end of an era and a fresh start; Dan’s little studio burned the morning after he’d rescued the rough tracks, studio equipment, and a range of instruments we play, yet rarely have the space to bring with us on the road. Highlighting them on this album helped us feel the joy of performing again and to know that despite the setbacks of the past year, our music will thrive in new ways.
Each song portrays a facet of the journey from setback to reclaimed hope - finding faith in the possibility of LOVE in “Make Me Come Alive,” HOME in “Beale Street,” COMMUNITY in “Together Again” and “Money Shouldn’t Talk That Strong,” and one’s own STRENGTH and FORTITUDE in “If A Wave” and “Hey, It’ll Be OK.”
Each song portrays a facet of the journey from setback to reclaimed hope - finding faith in the possibility of LOVE in “Make Me Come Alive,” HOME in “Beale Street,” COMMUNITY in “Together Again” and “Money Shouldn’t Talk That Strong,” and one’s own STRENGTH and FORTITUDE in “If A Wave” and “Hey, It’ll Be OK.”