BIOGRAPHY
Byron Fulop Laing, 19, is the Sage Foundation fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. He studies violin with Almita and Roland Vamos. Byron has studied previously with Kathryn Gray in Portland, and part-time with Paul Kantor in Houston.
Byron has appeared as soloist with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, Portland Metro Arts Orchestra, and twice with the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Byron has won many competitions and awards, including the 2014 Metro Arts Inc. Young Artist Debut, the 2014 PYP Soloist Competition, the Trula Whelan Concerto Competition, the Jacques Gershkovich Award, and the Tooze Special Projects Award, as well as scholarships from Oregon-ASTA, OMTA, Monday Musical Club of Portland, and the Beaux Art Society of Portland. Byron recently appeared live on WFMT Chicago’s “Introductions” as the violinist of the Akros Piano Trio. Byron has performed live on “Thursday’s @ 3” and was featured in the program “On Deck with Young Musicians” on All Classical Radio 89.9.
In February 2016, Byron was selected to perform at Symphony Center in Chicago as a member of the Chicago Youth in Music Festival Orchestra. Byron was a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic Association (PYP) for four seasons and served as co-concertmaster of PYP for the 2014-15 season. He performed at the Grant Park International Music Festival in Chicago and appeared on TEDx with PYP. He served as concertmaster of the Baroque Opera Workshop under the direction of David Kerr and Sue Jensen. Byron has also performed in Camerata PYP, the PYP String Quartet, “I Ragazzi,” a performing baroque Trio, and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony (MYS).
Byron participated in the 2011 MYS Concert Tour to Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic, and performed at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. Byron was one of 8 Young Artists selected from across the country for the 2014 McDuffie Center Labor Day Chamber Music Festival in Macon, Georgia. For the summers of 2012-14, Byron attended the Meadowmount School of Music in upstate New York, studying with Amy Barlowe and Gerardo Ribeiro. In previous summers, he attended the Portland Summer Ensembles, the Metro Arts Inc. Solo/Duo and Orchestral Program, and the Columbia Symphony Chamber Music Program.
Byron has performed in solo and chamber masterclasses for many distinguished artists including Ida Kavafian, Daniel Phillips, Robert McDuffie, Charles Castleman, William van der Sloot, David Halen, Lawrence Dutton, Jun Iwasaki, Monica Huggett, Ton Koopman, and the Jasper and Miro Quartets among many others.
As a home-based high school student Byron manages his time between academics, violin practice, music ensembles and fundraising for his music education. He has volunteeed with several nonprofits and he organizes a concert each fall/winter to benefit local non-profit organizations. Aside from making music, his passions include social and environmental justice.
My Current Resume (4-page PDF)