Originally from Long Island, New York, Laura Scalzo's love of the violin was sparked by the great violinist, Itzhak Perlman, when she heard him play on "Sesame Street." She began lessons at the age of 4 and has been playing ever since. She holds degrees from Temple University (BA) and the University of Delaware (MM). Her primary teachers have included William dePasquale, Xiang Gao, and Ellen dePasquale.
Ms. Scalzo joined the first violin section of the San Antonio Symphony in 2011. Ms. Scalzo is also the Assistant Concertmaster of the Mid-Texas Symphony. Before moving to San Antonio, she was a tenured member of the Delaware and Allentown Symphonies.
Ms. Scalzo has attended many prestigious summer festivals, including Tanglewood, Aspen, and Kent/Blossom. She has played under Maestros Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Herbert Blomstedt, and Sir Andrew Davis. In 2009, Ms. Scalzo was honored to perform as the principal second violin of the Tanglewood Orchestra with Maestro Kurt Masur conducting. She has had the opportunity to work with such well-known artists as the Emerson String Quartet, Corigliano String Quartet, the Juilliard String Quartet, Roger Tapping, Mark Sokol, Pamela and Claude Frank.
As a passionate chamber music lover, Ms. Scalzo has performed with various ensembles in San Antonio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. She is currently a member of the Mid-Texas Chamber Players.
In addition to performing, Ms. Scalzo is an enthusiastic teacher and has maintained a private studio of all levels since 2000. At the University of Delaware, she was Xiang Gao's teaching assistant and taught the undergraduate non-music majors. She was a professor of violin at Texas Lutheran University from 2013-2015.
Ms. Scalzo has many interests outside of music. In 2020 she launched a
blog, www.rootsinthecitytx.com, where she shares her adventures in vegetable and native plant gardening. She is an avid animal lover and amateur chef. She can often be found at home in the kitchen cooking for family and friends, or when not working, attempting to entertain the cats.