Bio

Musical HIstory:

2009 ‘HANG Rhapsody‘ a world premiere journey into living art, San Francisco. ‘Maṇḍala’, a series of artistic events that gather artists from all over the world. ‘Circoscopie’ multimedia performance, Rome. Different concert in Europe and California. ‘When dreams are interrupted’ a Purple Moon Dance project. ‘Hang Gathering Concert 2009’ produced by SAMAVESHA with the most talented Bay Area Hang players. Series of CDs called ‘Musical Incense’, released volume One and Two. Performed at ‘Garden of memory’, the annual new-music event directed by Sarah Cahill.

2007-2008 Conceived and directed ‘Elemental’, multimedia performance, in Berkeley, California. Performed at ‘Garden of memory’, the annual new-music event directed by Sarah Cahill. ‘Origins’ dance and musical performance with Dance Monks. Conceived SAMAVESHA, a production that creates multiple forms of Art in collaboration with artists from all over the world. Cd releases: ‘Hang: a collection of works’ and ‘Mood’. ‘Instrumental 2’ by Roberto Zappala’, dance and music performance.

2005-2006 Assistant composer to Paolo Buonvino for the movies ‘Il mio miglior nemico’ by Carlo Verdone and ‘N (Io e Napoleone)’ by Paolo Virzi’.

‘Sahara’, a song for the movie ‘Lettere dal Sahara” by Vittorio De Seta. ‘Release’ by Emanuele Becheri, a sounding installation.

2003-2004 Authored and performed various music for theater like ‘Il viaggio’ by Nini Ferrara, ‘Antigone’ directed by Bergamaschi; sound-tracks for movies like ‘My father’s garden’ by Matthew Brown, with Maya Sansa, present at the Venice Film Festival 2003, ‘Piccola pesca’ by Enrico Pizzianti, ‘Jo Lido’ by Francesco Jost and dance performances like ‘Uzumè’ by Maria Grazia Sarandrea.

2002-2003 Presentation of the record ‘From Rosy Bower's’ at the Auditorium, Parco della Musica of Rome, with the ensemble ‘Ku’. Performance of ‘Ophelia e le altre’ at the ‘Leuciane Festival’, in Roma in Piazza Trilussa for ‘Estate Romana’, in Positano for the summer festival of the Costiera Amalfitana, at Maschio Angioino and at the Palazzo Reale della Reggia di Napoli, at Torre Michelangelo on the island of Ischia. Soundtrack of the multimedia show ‘Butterfly and Parrots’, with Carla Fracci and the dance troupe of the Teatro dell'Opera.

2000-2001 Many concerts of minimalist music with ‘Ready Made Quartet’ like ‘Reich in New York’ at the Castello de L’Aquila and ‘Less Is Too Much’ at the Classico Village of Rome. With ‘Ars Ludi’ perform at the ‘37° Festival of Nuova Cansonanza’, held at the Teatro Olimpico of Rome.

2000 In the year of the Jubilee, as a didgeridoo soloist, started the opening night of the ‘Missa Solemnis Pro Jubileo Domini Nostri Tertio Millennio’, composed and directed by Franco Mannino and performed at the Colosseum (Anfiteatro Flavio), in Rome. Assistant for the concert directed by Marcello Peca, ‘La Passione di Cristo’ by A. Scarlatti, for the ‘Festival Barocco’ of Viterbo.

1998 Performed with the didgeridoo in the concert ‘Dedalo’, held at the Swiss Istitute of Rome, with an ensemble of classical musicians directed by Bernardino Penazzi.

1997 'Laugrafia' debuts at the 'Poeteca', in Campo dei Fiori, Rome: a performance of slide projections, music and poetry on the text 'La bomba' by Gregory Corso, interpreted by the poet Pilar Castel.

1995 Conceived and directed the theater piece ‘Apologia della Gioia’. Multimedia performance, with the participation of an ensemble of thirty performers. Among them musicians, actors, poets, painters, dancers and performers.

1994-1996 Performed in various world music festivals in italy and collaborated in theater and music courses held at the Teatro Ateneo of the Sapienza of Rome by Indian masters like Tapa Sudana, K. Kaladhara and others.

Favorite Artists:

Meredith Monk, Bjork, Madredeus, Bill Evans, Steve Reich, Shakti, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Nitin Sawhney, Niyaz, Vas, Zakir Hussain, Jan Garbarek, John MacLaughlin, Glen Velez, Oi va voi, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Glen Gould, Bach, G. B. Pergolesi, Paris Combo, Prince, Rosa Balistreri, Lautari, Dead Can Dance, Wim Mertens, Miles Davis, Frida Kahlo..

Laura Inserra is a vibrant and talented composer, multi-instrumentalist, teacher, and performer.

She is a classically trained musician with a strong improvisational background. She plays contemporary and world music in different projects as a percussionist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. She authors and performs music for theater, dance performances, exhibitions and soundtracks for movies with acclaimed musicians from all over the world.

For more then 15 years she has been involved in the artistic direction of multi-disciplinary performances in Europe and in the US.

In 2007 she founded SAMAVESHA, a non-profit multidisciplinary performing art company based out of Berkeley but performing all over the world.

Audiences worldwide are not only mesmerized by this woman but captivated by her virtuosity, profound musicality and the passion she brings on the stage. Check the VIDEOS....

Biography:

I was born in Sicily, Italy. At the age of 15 I started studying classical piano, but my passion for research led me to the improvisation style. I played with different musicians and I explored various musical genres, and within a few years I was able to apply the free improvisation technique on many instruments: bass, soprano sax, classical flute and ethnic percussion instruments.

Thanks to musicians and teachers from various continents, I learned to both play and construct native instruments of the world, like the didgeridoo from Australia, the djembe from Africa, bamboo flutes from India and other instruments created by me.

In 1993 I moved to Rome to study psychology. At this point my research intensified, specializing in ethnic/tribal instruments and cultural anthropology. This is when I also started teaching percussion instruments and didgeridoo.

I attended the Classical Music Conservatory in Italy, where I studied classical orchestral percussion. Thanks to my teacher Gianluca Ruggeri I intensified my skill in minimalist music. These years were very important because they allowed me to develop my personal style.

At 21 I created and directed a theatrical multimedia performance called ‘Apologia della Gioia’, involving a live ensemble of thirty artists as musicians, actors, dancers, poets and performers. This is the vision I hold in all my works: different expressions of art all in an unique event. Now these productions are called SAMAVESHA.

While I was living in Rome, I authored and performed various pieces of music for theater, dance performances, exhibitions and soundtracks for movies with acclaimed musicians from all over the world. ‘Mood’ is an album with different songs from these works. Check also the soundtrack samples...

For almost two years I also collaborated musically and as assistant composer for Paolo Buonvino, one of the most famous italian movie soundtrack composers.

Currently, I am based out of Berkeley, California, where I create soundtracks, performances and concerts with artists of all genres. I am the fonder and the artistic director of SAMAVESHA, a production that seeks to unite different expressions of Art in beautiful, inspiring and unique events. ‘Maṇḍala’ is a series of artistic events that gather great artists from all over the world.

In the past few years, I have discovered the HANG, a new instrument made in Switzerland. ‘HANG: a collection of works’ and ‘Musical Incense’ are albums dedicated entirely to this instrument. My research is focused primarily on the Hang although I perform with a variety of instruments and I teach percussion and rhythmic improvisation, didgeridoo and circular breathing, Hang and other workshops.