Laura Inserra and the handpan: 20 years of sound evolution

Have you recently heard about an outstanding musician named Laura Inserra? Want to learn more about her—especially how she discovered the handpan, her go-to percussion instrument? What has her musical path looked like over the years?

In the late 2010s, I first discovered this Italian artist through her album "Hang: A Collection of Works." Since then, I’ve been following her creative work closely.

In this in-depth article, you’ll discover:

• How this musician discovered the handpan
• Her full artistic career
• Her distinctive playing style
• And the other projects she’s been deeply involved in

That way, you’ll get a clearer picture of Laura Inserra’s professional life and feel more connected to the work she’s been creating for over 20 years.

Let’s start with Laura Inserra’s biography.

How did Laura Inserra discover the handpan?

Laura Inserra was born and raised in Sicily, where the island’s volcanic landscape shaped her sonic imagination. A passionate teenager, she began studying classical piano at 15 but quickly turned to free improvisation to explore new musical horizons. During these formative years, she played with various musicians and was introduced to many musical genres, developing ease as an improviser across multiple instruments: piano, of course, but also bass, soprano saxophone, classical flute, and world percussion. Curious about musical traditions from around the globe, Laura also learned to play—and even build—traditional instruments from different cultures, including the Australian didgeridoo, the West African djembe, Asian bamboo flutes, and more, guided by masters from several continents.

In the early 1990s, Laura left her native Sicily for Rome, where she studied psychology at La Sapienza University, deepening her interest in cultural anthropology and ethnomusicology. At the same time, she continued her eclectic musical training: she began teaching percussion and didgeridoo in 1994, while performing at world music festivals in Italy and taking part in musical theater workshops alongside Indian masters visiting Europe. Her thirst for learning also led her toward a more academic path: in 1998, she enrolled at the Conservatory of L’Aquila, where she studied classical percussion under maestro Gianluca Ruggeri, sharpening her taste for minimalist, structured music. This dual training—self-taught and classical—helped her forge a personal style early on.

At the turn of the 2000s, Laura Inserra encountered the instrument that would change the course of her career: the Hang, one of the first handpan models invented in Switzerland in the early 2000s. She discovered this melodic metal instrument—both percussive and harmonic—while it was still in its infancy. In 2003, Laura began playing and teaching it, becoming one of the first musicians to adopt PANArt’s Hang. She was captivated by its airy tone and the freedom it offers for improvisation. Within a few years, the handpan became central to her musical world, so much so that she devoted an entire album to its sound (Hang: a collection of works) in 2007. Here is one of the tracks from that album:

Discovering the handpan greatly expanded her sonic palette and helped shape her artistic direction. She wove the Hang into her compositions and performances, using it both solo and alongside other traditional instruments. This new timbre—reminiscent of a steel drum, yet played with the fingertips—allowed her to fully express her intuitive musical language. The Hang propelled Laura Inserra onto the international world and meditative music scenes. In the San Francisco Bay Area, specifically Berkeley, where she later settled, she became especially well known for her work with the Hang, having adopted the handpan early and explored it in depth.

In doing so, Laura Inserra helped popularize the instrument worldwide and expand its expressive possibilities. Her interest in the Hang drum is part of a broader quest for sound: beyond this instrument, she continues to play a wide range of rare, ancient, and contemporary instruments, collecting and mastering them as she continually enriches her musical universe.

What has been Laura Inserra’s musical journey?

When she was based in Rome in the early 2000s, Laura Inserra composed music for theater, dance, and film. She collaborated in particular with composer Paolo Buonvino, working as an assistant on soundtracks for films by renowned Italian directors. She also wrote a song for the film Lettere dal Sahara by filmmaker Vittorio De Seta. In 2000, she performed as a didgeridoo soloist at a special event at the Colosseum in Rome, as part of a sacred work composed for the Jubilee.

In 2007, Laura Inserra moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and founded Samavesha, a nonprofit arts organization where she serves as artistic director. Through this organization, she produces and directs innovative projects blending music, visual arts, dance, and performance, such as the Art in Nature Festival and the Rose Labyrinth Series. She has performed around the world, from intimate venues to large stages hosting thousands. She has recorded numerous albums throughout her career, including Mood, Live at Garden of Memory, Altitude, and Hang Tales Vol. 1. In the United States, she has collaborated with dance companies such as Axis Dance Company, vocal ensembles such as Vox Musica, and musicians such as Stephen Kent, Evan Fraser, and Barbara Eramo. In response to the 2020 health crisis, Laura Inserra adapted her practice. She launched Shelter in Music, a series of meditative online concerts broadcast live. You can listen to one of them below:

Around the same time, she launched MetaMusic, an educational program focused on structured improvisation, sound healing, and exploring consciousness through music. In 2023, she created Qualia, an immersive 360° dome show combining projections and live musical performance on the theme of the elements. She performs in planetariums, at spiritual retreats, conferences on personal transformation, and technology summits. Companies such as Google X and forums such as Wisdom 2.0 call on her to create unique sensory experiences.

She also founded Chambers of AWE LLC, which develops her sound environments in various contexts: wellness, science, spirituality, and events. She continues to organize immersive concerts, sound journeys, healing sessions, and online training courses. Her music remains focused on the human experience, inner resonance, and transformation.

What is the playing style of this Italian musician who specializes in the Hang drum?

Laura Inserra’s style is built on a distinctive blend of intuition, deep inner listening, and structure. She favors improvisation as a living form of composition. With the handpan, she’s developed an approach that’s technical, fluid, and meditative. She uses delicate strikes, silence, rhythmic layering, and harmonics to create organic soundscapes. She also developed a teaching method she calls Structured Improvisation Technique to help musicians improvise with coherence and intention. She has also created MetaHang, an intuitive technique that combines posture, breathing, and fluid hand movements on the instrument. She shares some of these techniques for free in a series of videos she has posted on YouTube:

For Laura Inserra, playing the handpan is a dance, a meditation, and a sensitive way of listening to the moment. She weaves influences from minimalist music, shamanic traditions, world music, sacred music, and contemporary music into her work. She plays rare instruments—acoustic, electroacoustic, and ancient—creating soundscapes made for introspection. Her music isn’t just heard—it’s felt.

What other creative activities does this Italian artist engage in?

Laura Inserra is also an educator, lecturer, and mentor. She has been teaching for over 25 years. She organizes workshops on intuitive music, handpan, sound healing, body awareness, and artistic presence. She supports people through transformative processes using sound. She speaks at international conferences on consciousness, creativity, neuroscience, art, and spirituality. She takes part in retreats, sacred ceremonies, and collective projects. She co-founded the Seeds of Gold Institute, which promotes ancestral wisdom and artistic innovation.

Deeply connected to nature, she designs experiences that awaken the senses and ecological awareness. She creates performances inspired by natural elements, playing in forests, labyrinths, caves, and temples. She uses sound to reconnect people with themselves, with others, and with the living world. Laura Inserra is much more than a musician or handpan player: she is a conduit, an alchemist of sound, an explorer of consciousness through vibration.

Find peace in music with a handpan, just like Laura Inserra

While Laura Inserra is considered an alchemist of sound, she is also renowned for her mastery in the field of music therapy—the use of instruments and music for healing, relaxation, and soothing. In this context, she works with many sound tools, such as the handpan and gongs.

To achieve similar results for deep relaxation, it’s best to choose high-quality models with soft, harmonious vibrations. In this regard, I highly recommend the online store Instruments du Monde, which sells dozens of handpans with truly beautiful tones. With them, you’re guaranteed to enjoy everything this percussion instrument has to offer in terms of sensation and wonder.

Treat yourself and pick up one of these handpans right now by clicking on the image below:

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A rare duo who have showcased the full range of their talent on the handpan, Archer & Tripp are also fascinating musicians to listen to. They built their reputation by playing at numerous festivals and releasing several albums, much like many of the best handpan players in the community.