Laura Ramsay

Laura Ramsay is a saxophonist and educator from Bergenfield, New Jersey. She holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Saxophone Performance and Music Education from the University of Michigan and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Saxophone Performance also at the University of Michigan under the mentorship of GRAMMY Award-winning saxophonist Timothy McAllister.

An accomplished soloist, Laura recently performed with the National Music Festival Orchestra during the summer of 2025. She was the featured soloist in Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera and Darius Milhaud’s La Création du Monde, praised for her “soothing and searing saxophone tone, flawlessly performed” in these performances. Her dual commitment to performance and education reflects her belief in their reciprocal power – a philosophy she brings into her private teaching studio made up of saxophone students from 4th grade to high school. 

In addition to her solo work, Laura is a passionate chamber musician, serving as the alto saxophonist of the Cerus Quartet and as both a saxophonist and pianist of the Simian Duo. The Cerus Quartet has received widespread acclaim, most recently being named the winner of the 2025 CAG Louis and Meisel Competition, the gold medalist of the 2025 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, winner of the 2025 Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, winner of the 2024 MTNA Chamber Music Competition, and First Prize and Michigan Prize winner of the 2023 Briggs Chamber Music Competition. Laura’s work with Cerus has taken her all across the USA, performing in small rural elementary school classrooms all the way to concert halls in New York City.

Laura is an active advocate of new music, having commissioned, led consortiums for, and premiered works by Jennifer Higdon, Karalyn Schubring, Ryan Lindveit, Joey Karz, and Hannah Wolkowitz, among others. The Simian Duo specializes specifically in commissioning new music and has organized and taken part in a tour of saxophone duo music across the midwest for local audiences, showcasing these new works by Isaac Boone, Alex Tedrow, Helen Feng, Daniel Nace, and Jacob Nance.