About Laura
Laura Adlers is a Canadian nonprofit and arts executive, consultant, and cultural advocate whose career spanning over three decades has left a lasting mark on the performing arts landscape in Canada and internationally.
Laura Adlers is a Canadian nonprofit and arts executive, consultant, and cultural advocate whose career spanning over three decades has left a lasting mark on the performing arts landscape in Canada and internationally.
Strengthening communities through powerful partnerships
Guided by a deep belief in the power of the arts to build community and bridge cultures, she has brought visionary leadership, rigorous strategic thinking, and a proven track record of results to every organization she has served.
Laura holds a Master of International Arts Management (MM) from HEC Montréal, in partnership with Southern Methodist University (Dallas), Universidad de los Andes (Bogotà) and SDA Bocconi (Milan), and has translated her extensive career experience and graduate studies into executive roles at some of Canada’s most respected cultural and performing arts organizations, most notably Luminous Voices (Calgary), The Elora Singers and Elora Festival, The Burlington Performing Arts Centre and Business for the Arts (Toronto).
As Founder of The Adlers Agency since 1995, Laura has provided strategic consulting, fundraising, marketing, and artistic administration services to nonprofit, performing arts and public sector organizations around the world.
Cross-Cultural Collaboration Through Choral Singing
A life-long choral singer, Laura is internationally recognized as an award-winning administrator of community and professional choirs, particularly in Canada and Latvia. She is passionate about cross-cultural collaboration, most notably through her work with Canadian and Latvian choirs, composers and conductors, but also through her involvement in the planning of and participation in international tours and festivals.
Current and past clients include:
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- Luminous Voices (Timothy Shantz, Calgary)
- The Elora Singers and Elora Festival (Mark Vuorinen, Elora)
- the State Choir LATVIJA (Māris Sirmais, Riga)
- Pax Christi Chorale (Stephanie Martin, Toronto)
- Orpheus Choir of Toronto (Robert Cooper, Toronto)
- Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto (Lydia Adams, Toronto)
- and the Latvian Youth Choir BALSIS (Ints Teterovskis, Riga)
She has been instrumental in raising the profiles of amateur and professional Latvian choirs on the world stage, producing nine international tours for BALSIS from 2009-2014, co-producing Ēriks Ešenvalds’ Nordic Light Tour in Ontario with Robert Cooper and the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, and producing the State Choir LATVIJA’s debut Canadian tour in 2019.
Promoting Latvian culture – one story, one choir, one song at a time
In May 2025, Laura led a tour of Canadian conductors and composers to Latvia and Estonia to learn about and experience the unique dynamics that define Baltic choral traditions as a UNESCO-recognized part of the nations’ cultural identities. Canadian delegates presented lectures and reading sessions to their Latvian counterparts, forging new cross-cultural partnerships for the future.
In recognition of her extraordinary, sustained commitment to promoting Latvian culture internationally, Laura was honoured with one of Latvia’s most distinguished civilian honours: appointment as an Officer of the Cross of Recognition by the Republic of Latvia in 2020.
Laura currently serves as a volunteer Board Member of Chorus America and is a sought-after speaker, facilitator, and thought leader in the choral and nonprofit arts sectors across North America.
Through The Adlers Agency, she now offers fractional executive leadership, interim management, and special project consulting to nonprofit and arts organizations ready to grow, stabilize, or transform.
For a detailed employment history, visit Laura’s Linked In profile.
I was pleased to collaborate with Laura Adlers on several ambitious projects, most notably Laura’s co-production with Robert Cooper and the well-known Orpheus Choir of Toronto’s “Nordic Light Tour” over a two-week period, featuring the Canadian premiere of Ēriks Ešenvalds’ “Nordic Light” multimedia symphony, the Canadian premiere documentary film of the making of this work, and the composer and his publisher Musica Baltica touring to Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Montreal and Ottawa to present workshops to local music students and choirs and promote Latvian choral music.
This was one of several cultural projects Laura was involved with as part of the Centennial anniversary of the Republic of Latvia celebrations in 2018. None of these projects would have been possible without her many connections and her sound understanding of the value of cross-cultural collaboration and strategic engagement.
In 2020, Laura was appointed an Officer of the Cross of Recognition by the Republic of Latvia for her many years of service in this capacity.
I want to thank Laura for all she has done to help both our organizations move forward with our strategic agenda in unimagined circumstances. To stay active in lockdowns is a great achievement. To move forward strategically in those circumstances is incredible. While it has taken a team to do this, Laura has been both glue and guide and for that I am truly grateful. Thank you, Laura for your leadership over the past 3.5 years!
Laura was instrumental in launching the artsVest™ National program in 2011 and has initiated and developed successful and myriad partnerships with multiple stakeholders across the corporate, public and cultural sectors. She developed a community relations and outreach strategy to promote the program across Canada and spoke at multiple conferences on the impact of the program.
I have always admired Laura’s distinct passion and sensitivity to arts and culture. Her business acumen in relationship building is unmatched. She is a flawless writer and her public speaking skills are incredibly solid. Laura’s experience, talents and positive disposition would be an asset to any organization!