Laurana Roderer

Dr. Laurana Wheeler Roderer is a violinist and librettist committed to artistry, engagement, and activism, and she is continually envisioning and executing projects which use music to communicate relevant social issues, particularly those of environmental justice. Laurana’s most ambitious artistic endeavor to date was a project to co-write a libretto, commission, perform and produce an original chamber opera concerning global sustainability. The opera, Emma Cardon’s A Storm We Call Progress, premiered in a virtual format in October 2020. Other recent projects include the premiere of Emma Cardon’s Fish Out of Water and Jessica Rudman’s Letters from the Anthropocene, a song cycle with libretto by Laurana Wheeler Roderer that explores climate change from the perspective of an expectant parent.

Laurana grew up fiddling and participating in local competitions in her home state of Idaho. She discovered a passion for classical music in high school under the tutelage of Emma Rubinstein. She then went on to complete her undergraduate degree in violin performance at Utah State University, where she studied with Robert Waters and the Fry Street Quartet. In 2022 she graduated with a Master’s degree in violin performance from Dr. Katherine McLin’s studio at Arizona State University, where she also completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts in 2024. An active performer and educator, Laurana is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, and she also teaches as adjunct violin faculty at Brigham Young University-Idaho. Laurana and her husband Patrik are currently in the process of building a sustainable, alternative home here in southeastern Idaho.