Biography

First-year Butler Studio artist Laura Bleakley, a Honolulu-born Korean-American, recently completed two years as a resident artist at Utah Opera. In 2024, she returned to the Glimmerglass Festival for her second summer as a young artist, while also serving as both assistant youth chorus director and principal coach/performance pianist on Glimmerglass’s world premiere youth opera, Rumpelstiltskin and the Unlovable Children. Bleakley has served as a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, a resident artist with Opera in the Heights, and a festival artist with Opera Saratoga. She has won competitions in both organ and piano, including the Music Teachers National Association State Piano Solo Competition, the MTNA Chamber Music Competition regionals, and the American Guild of Organists Competition. In addition to performing on National Public Radio’s From the Top and being featured in Houston Public Media’s Skyline Sessions, Bleakley recorded an album of rare Russian art songs for KNS Classical. She received her Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Houston, where she is currently pursuing her Doctor of Music degree. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Organ and Piano Performance from the University of Puget Sound.