Lauren Smee

Lauren Smee is a violinist, personal trainer, and Body Mapping Educator based in St. John's,
Newfoundland. Lauren is passionate about sharing the joys of music and movement with her
students, clients, and audiences. She is fascinated by the connections between mind and body
and this infuses her work in both music and fitness. Her goal is to aid her students in developing
a healthy relationship with the violin and to support her clients in developing a healthy
relationship to exercise and their own bodies.

As a performer, Lauren is a long-time member of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.
Together with fellow NSO violinist Carole Bestvater, Lauren co-founded the Isabella Project an
initiative that celebrates the music that deserves to be prioritized more in the classical music
world. The Isabella Project creates concert events with educational components for all ages
centred around the music of women and composers of colour, in venues such as the Battery Cafe
and the Cape St. Mary’s Performance Series. During the COVID-19 pandemic they participated
in Tuckamore Cares, a project creating video performances for long-term care residents. An
increasingly avid fiddler, Lauren plays in the band Sooky Couch Girls, with Sarah Hansen,
Emily Hunt, and Meghan McCarthy.

An active and enthusiastic teacher, Lauren enjoys running a private studio and teaching with the
Suzuki Talent Education Program of St. John’s, where she served as Artistic Director from 2014
- 2016 and co-Artistic Director from 2021-2023. She has frequently been on faculty at the
Newfoundland and Labrador Suzuki Institute and in 2017-2018 Lauren was the Project
Coordinator of Memorial University’s Chamber Music for Youth program. Lauren's private
violin studio has become increasingly active in the St. John's community, performing regularly at
local retirement homes, and creating Moods & Myths, an album of student improvisations as part
of RPM Challenge. 

Whether on stage or in the studio Lauren is passionate promoting healthy movement. As a
licensed Body Mapping Educator she educates musicians on how accurate information about the
body in movement can enhance both music pedagogy and musical ability as well as prevent
injury. Lauren has taught Body Mapping at Memorial University of Newfoundland School of
Music in collaboration with colleague Gabriela Sanchez, and has taught Body Mapping for
children at the Suzuki Talent Education Program and Strong Harbour Strings. During the
summers Lauren enjoys teaching online Body Mapping courses for musicians around the world.

Lauren's interest in learning about the body developed into an interest in fitness as she noticed
the connections between her mental health and physical activity level, particularly following the
birth of her child. As a Certified Personal Trainer (CanFitPro) Lauren is passionate about
functional fitness and supporting her clients in performing their everyday activities with ease,
comfort and enjoyment and making exercise a sustainable part of their lives so they can feel
strong and resilient, both mentally and physically. Lauren has pursued specialized training in
Active Aging (completed 2024), and Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercises (in progress
2024), and enjoys incorporating her Body Mapping training into her fitness work with musicians.

Lauren holds degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University (Honours B.Mus) and Memorial
University of Newfoundland (M.Mus in Violin Performance/Pedagogy) and is grateful to her
principal violin teachers, Dr. Nancy Dahn, Jerzy Kaplanek, and May Ing, her Body Mapping
teacher Jennifer Johnson, and her Personal Training mentor Juanita Koo.