Lausi continues to inspire students through song

Ms. Laurie Lausi teaches choir and vocal training at East. She has been teaching here for over 26 years.

During her very first year at East, she was able to take East singers and orchestra to the world-renowned Carnegie Hall where they carried out a beautiful performance. It was an experience none of them will ever forget.

In 2005, East Singers partnered with the choirs and orchestras of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North to do a performance of “Carmina Burana” at the Kimmel Center. They raised over $40,000 for Breast Cancer research and involved many other East departments in the process; business students helped design the tickets, art students did an art show in the lobby, graphic art students designed the t-shirt…and the list goes on! Since they couldn’t do an event of this size every year, Lausi came up with Coffee House which has been held almost every year since 2006. Coffee House allows her students to use their talents to better their community. There is always a cause that Coffee House raises awareness and money for. It also allows other parts of the school community to get involved as well. This year’s Coffee House will benefit Oaks Integrated Health Care and focus on mental health and will be held on April 22. Lausi encourages everyone to come and watch the show!

East Singers is 1 of 5 high school choirs in the state to perform alongside the distinguished Chanticleer choir at Westminster Choir College this month. East Singers have also been asked to do a world premiere of a new choral piece in the Choral Spring Concert on May 18 at 7:30 pm. They are hoping their composer will be able to fly in for the premiere of their new piece. Another event coming up for East Choir includes their annual spring “recruitment”. The small group’s of East, the different organizations connected to Choir, will be visiting the elementary schools hoping to meet more students inspired by music. They are always planting seeds to recruit future singers.

From an early age, Lausi knew she wanted to be a teacher. She gravitated towards jobs that involved working with children. And she also had a rich musical experience throughout her entire childhood with choirs, piano, and church. To be able to blend her love of teaching and music together was the perfect career path for her. Lausi has 2 children who are currently students at East and both of them are active parts of its choirs, small groups and Marching Band. Her parents were both music teachers for a big portion of their lives so she was in choirs and attending concerts from the age of 4!

Before working at East, Lausi performed with the Select Choir and Madrigals (similar to East Voce) all throughout high school. She always did extra-musical experiences like Honors Choirs and piano competitions. In college, she continued to perform in top choirs and small select ensembles. She directed her sorority in an all-college SING Competition, and she performed with the Mexico City Symphony in college

“That was a fun trip and experience,” says Lausi.

For several years, Lausi directed a summer camp twist on the musical “Glee” with her co-director Mrs. Heather Lockart. Their last summer was 2019. She is going to teach a workshop this summer for Cherry Hill Summer Enrichment called The Singing Workshop. She is also the assistant director of the All-Cherry Hill Chorus. This past holiday season, she began a quartet, an ensemble of four singers, called “Holiday Harmonies” that performs at parties and events. She also participates in her church music program every now and then and has been on the staff of American Music Abroad, an Honors Choir of high school singers who performed in and toured several countries in Europe.

When she first began at East, She accepted the job of director of a community group called The Spotliters. She has also been given opportunities to perform with well-known composers/conductors like Eric Whitacre and Stephen Schwartz (composer of Wicked).

“I love the variety of my job! No year is the same. All the new music and new members in the choir make it really fun. I really enjoy teaching an elective where most of my students stay with Choir all 4 years. It is such a privilege to be able to have those relationships and be able to watch my freshmen grow into amazing seniors,” Lausi says.

Lausi goes on to express her admiration towards her career, “I also love the awesome responsibility of being a role model for my students. I choose to show kindness, forgiveness, and gratitude in all situations, and I hope that this will impact the lives of my students so that they leave East not only as better musicians but also as better people!”

Lausi can build connections with her students because she believes that singing is such a personal act; you are sharing a very vulnerable part of yourself when you share your voice. She makes it a priority to get to know each of her students and allow them to get to know each other. Lausi believes the more comfortable you are around each other, the more likely you are to fully reveal your vocal abilities.

“I think we represent every department! I really enjoy getting to know East teachers. I also had the privilege of being a chaperone for the senior trip to Disney this year and made deeper connections with the incredible teachers on that trip. We have some of the most incredible humans on our faculty,” says Lausi.

She’s thankful for getting to do what she loves every day around the people she cares most about.