Laura Samuel (violinist)
{{Short description|British violinist (1976–2024)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Laura Samuel
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Laura Helen Samuel
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1976|1|4|df=y}}
| birth_place = London, United Kingdom
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|11|21|1976|1|4|df=y}}
| death_place =
| monuments =
| nationality = British
| occupation = Violinist
| known_for =
| relatives =
| awards =
}}
Laura Helen Samuel (4 January 1976 – 21 November 2024) was a British violinist.{{Cite web |date=25 November 2024 |title=Laura Samuel obituary: warm-hearted and generous orchestral leader |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/laura-samuel-obituary-warm-hearted-and-generous-orchestral-leader-3xwmqq0nj |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=The Times |language=en |archive-date=3 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203023929/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/laura-samuel-obituary-warm-hearted-and-generous-orchestral-leader-3xwmqq0nj |url-status=live }} She was a member and the co-founder of Belcea Quartet and leader of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Biography
Samuel was born in 1976 in London.{{Cite web |title=Past winners |url=https://twimc.org.uk/about-us/past-winners/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=TWIMC - Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition |language=en-GB |archive-date=20 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120050344/https://twimc.org.uk/about-us/past-winners/ |url-status=live }} She studied at the Royal College of Music in the 1990s together with Romanian violinist Corina Belcea. They played music just for fun together in a string quartet. As they were successful, the four quartet members were exempted from orchestra lessons and they founded the Belcea Quartet, with Samuel as second violinist. Samuel played in the Belcea Quartet from 1994 to 2010. They won many prizes and gave concerts in the United States, Asia and Europe. In 2010 Samuel wanted to focus on her orchestral career. After an audition, she was accepted as a concertmaster in the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.{{Cite web |date=2 December 2024 |title=Medeoprichter Belcea Quartet overleden |url=https://www.npoklassiek.nl/klassiek/podium/0b4f6268-989d-4e04-a379-b2668e672a44/medeoprichter-belcea-quartet-overleden |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=NPO Klassiek |language=nl}} In 2012, Samuel became the leader of the orchestra.{{Cite web |date=7 June 2012 |title=Violinist Laura Samuel named leader of BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. |url=https://www.thestrad.com/violinist-laura-samuel-named-leader-of-bbc-scottish-symphony-orchestra/6192.article |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=The Strad |language=en |archive-date=4 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204061047/https://www.thestrad.com/violinist-laura-samuel-named-leader-of-bbc-scottish-symphony-orchestra/6192.article |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra appoints new Leader |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/scottishsymphony |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en}}
In the early stages of her career, she received a number of prizes, including those of the Royal Over-Seas League, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Manoug Parikian Award, and the TWIYCA Competition.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-28 |title=British Violinist Laura Samuel has Died, Aged 48 |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/british-violinist-laura-samuel-has-died-aged-48/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=The Violin Channel |language=en-US}}
She had a five-year residency at the Wigmore Hall in London.{{Cite web |title=Laura Samuel |url=https://www.winchesterchambermusic.com/2014-programme/artists-2/laura-samuel/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Winchester Chamber Music Festival |language=en}} As a teacher, she worked for institutions such as the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Samuel joined the Nash Ensemble in 2010.{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-11-22 |title=BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra announces death of its leader, Laura Samuel |url=https://www.thestrad.com/news/bbc-scottish-symphony-orchestra-announces-death-of-its-leader-laura-samuel/18939.article |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=The Strad |language=en |archive-date=7 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250107184820/https://www.thestrad.com/news/bbc-scottish-symphony-orchestra-announces-death-of-its-leader-laura-samuel/18939.article |url-status=live }}
After a long illness, Samuel died on 21 November 2024, at the age of 48 from leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer.{{Cite web |date=22 November 2024 |title=Sad news: BBC orchestra mourns its leader, 48 |url=https://slippedisc.com/2024/11/bbc-orchestra-mourns-a-leader-48/ |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=Slipped Disc |language=en}} The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra dedicated a concert to her after her death.
References
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Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music
Category:Musicians from London
Category:British women violinists
Category:Place of death missing
Category:Deaths from leiomyosarcoma
Category:Chief conductors of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra