Musical Director | Audition Pianist | Coach | Vocal Arranger | Copyist
West End, London
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Presently the MD & associate musical supervisor at Matilda The Musical, Laurie is a music director for theatrical productions and workshops in London and around the UK. And possibly the tallest.
He also conducted the orchestral sessions for the score of the 2014 movie Pride.
AUDITION PIANIST
AUDITION PIANISTS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME.
With 20 years of professional audition piano experience, Laurie has played for scores of production casting panels and, as musical director, worked with other top-class pianists (and seen oh-so-many examples of how NOT to accompany singers.)
SINGING & REPERTOIRE COACH
LAURIE IS NOT A SINGING TEACHER.
And will never pretend to be. He's witnessed some of the best
and, sadly, seen others who really don't cut it. Laurie's skill set, however, does lie in preparing singers in performance and audition technique. He passes on his knowledge and experience not only in London's top theatre academies but also guides many of the country's most well-respected actors through their auditions and rehearsals.
VOCAL ARRANGER
THEY'RE SINGERS
From 3-part SSA pop arrangements for BBC's Eurovision: Your Country Needs You, and countless barbershop & close-harmony charts, to (often uncredited) theatrical vocal arrangements, Laurie's writing always serves not just the music and its listeners but also has one eye on every internal line. (There's never an occasion when an alto should have to sit on repeated notes for a chorus and a half.)
MUSIC COPYIST
Don't even ask how much time Laurie has spent in front of Sibelius over the decades,
KEYBOARD & PIANO
MUSICAL CHAIRS & DEPS/SUBS
It's not just about being a musical director. Laurie has been full-time on keys/piano - and usually as an associate conductor - on shows including Ghost, Carousel & The Lord Of The Rings. And he's been a 'dep' (that's a 'sub' to my US friends) on, well, really quite a lot of other West End musicals.
FAMILY GUY
NOW LOOK. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT MUSIC & THEATRE.
Laurie's a very proud husband of over fifteen years. And he and Mrs Laurie* are parents to three astonishingly wonderful - and, of course, tall - kids. Apologies (sort of) for any blatant inclusions of family photographs within these pages.
* (Yes, Laurie's wife's name is also Laurie.)