Laurie Arnold Cowan, ‘cellist, began playing at the age of 8 in her hometown of Philadelphia, studying with Philadelphia Orchestra members Deborah Reeder and Lloyd Smith. She received Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance, Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degrees from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX where she studied with Lev Aronson and Christopher Adkins. After graduating in 1994, Ms. Cowan free-lanced, taught, and played with several local orchestras including substituting with the Dallas and Fort Worth Symphonies. She participated in many festivals including the Dallas Symphony 1987 European Tour, American-Soviet Youth Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, Tanglewood Institute, and Music in the Mountains in Durango, Colorado. Ms. Cowan joined the ‘cello section of the San Antonio Symphony in 1998. While in San Antonio, she was a coach for the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s University. In 2003, she moved to Houston to teach at Space Center Intermediate School in Clear Creek ISD. In 2004, she became the Assistant Orchestra Director at Klein Forest High School. In her four years at Klein Forest, the orchestra students have played at Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Symphony Hall, and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. She has been in the Who’s Who of Teachers three times and was a Klein ISD Outstanding Teacher in 2007. Her favorite thing to do is come home at the end of the day and spend time with the love of her life--her cat Abby.