Draft:Lawren Brianna Ware

Born and raised in Gadsden, Alabama, Lawren Brianna Ware is an African American woman composer. She is an instrumentalist, classically trained in piano. She knows how to play the cello, saxophone, organ, and guitar. Her motto is “Composing music that makes one feel”.

Early Life
Dr. Ware was born in Gadsden, Alabama in 1994. Ever since a young child, she has been interested in music. Dr. Ware first started composing music at the age of 12, with piano. She competed in the AFMC Composition competition twice and won both times in her age division. Along with learning the piano, she has taken violin lessons since the age of 10. She excelled in violin and was the youngest person in the Etowah Youth Symphony Orchestra to be a section leader.

Education
As an undergraduate, Dr. Ware went to Samford University. While at Samford she would show her compositions to the music department who encouraged her to continue making music.In 2014, she performed one of her original arrangements for well known composer, Mark Hayes in a masterclass. Later in that year, she competed in the Sybarite5 Composition Competition, which required her to write a two minute long composition that encompasses the group’s style. She came in 2nd place but because the competition was so close, Sybarite5 decided to perform her piece as well at their Birmingham concert. In 2019 she decided to continue her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for music composition. She has recently graduated with her doctorate in music composition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2022.

Career
She is the first Black composer to be a composer in residence for Seal Bay Music Festival. Even with still being an up and coming classical composer, Dr. Ware is receiving more recognition in the contemporary classical music scene for some of her more recent compositions. One of her compositions has been included on an album as well. Dr.Ware currently offers piano lessons through her own piano studio in Madison, WI. She offers lessons to all ages and levels. She also does paid work, providing her musical services for different special occasions. She has worked with Access Contemporary Music (AMC) on a series of music called “Songs About Buildings and Moods”, her muse being The Milwaukee Art Museum. She is still composing music and entering competitions, the latest one being in Waco, TX called the “Central Texas songSLAM”.

Personal Life
In 2022, Dr. Lawren Brianna Ware (Boggs) got married to her husband, Preston Boggs. Together they share a beautiful dog named Jelly.