Musician Voices: Baroque Reflections

Coming soon!

An active performer on cello, baroque cello, and viola da gamba, Lara Turner enjoys a varied career performing music ranging from contemporary to baroque.

Lara has held the position of Principal Cello with the South Bend Symphony since 2004. She has been a featured soloist with the symphony performing Milhaud’s Concerto No. 1, Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Saint-Saens’ Concerto No. 1, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, and most recently, the first movement of Haydn’s Concerto No.1 in Alastair Presents: Seeking Haydn. As a chamber musician, Lara is a member of Claricello, a clarinet and cello duo co-founded with her husband, Jason Gresl, focusing primarily on contemporary classical music written for this unusual combination. They have performed in Canada, Italy, Holland, Ireland, and across the United States, and their performance of “Dust” by Belinda Reynolds can be heard on her CD, Cover.

Passionate about performing early music on period instruments, Lara has been the principal cellist of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado since it was founded in 2005. She is a core member of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra and was the principal cellist of Bourbon Baroque (Louisville, KY) for 13 years until the group disbanded in 2023. In addition, Lara has been a featured soloist on viola da gamba in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, and has frequently performed with other early music ensembles including Fort Wayne Bach Collegium, NYS Baroque, Three Notch’d Road, and North Carolina Baroque Orchestra.

A dedicated teacher, Lara has enjoyed many opportunities both in the United States and abroad. She has taught cello lessons and coached chamber music ensembles at the National Music Camp for Youth in Panama and as part of a Fulbright project in Bolivia. Currently, she maintains private cello studios in South Bend and Berrien Springs, serves as adjunct cello faculty at Saint Mary’s College and Andrews University, and coaches Fischoff Chamber Music Academy ensembles and the cello section of the South Bend Youth Symphony.

Lara holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Andor Toth, Jr. and Catharina Meints. At the San Francisco Conservatory she earned a Master of Music degree studying with Bonnie Hampton.