Lauri Conger

Lauri Conger is notable primarily as the keyboardist and one of the principal co-writers of most of the songs of The Parachute Club. History Conger is a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, where she began her professional music career in the 1970s. She received early piano and dance training in Port Arthur, Ontario, prior to its merger into Thunder Bay, and was a graduate of Hillcrest High School. Conger moved to Toronto, where she and Lorraine Segato were members of Mama Quilla II. In 1982, Conger and Segato, along with percussionist Billy Bryans, formed the nucleus of what would become The Parachute Club. Conger and Lorraine Segato, together with other band members and lyricist Lynne Fernie, wrote of most of the group’s songs, including the song for which the group is best known, “Rise Up”. Conger was a band member during the production of its three albums, released between 1983 and 1986, but left the group in mid-1987. Her final performance was before the Duke and Duchess of York in Toronto. at Toronto’s Ontario Place. Following her departure from the group and despite her significant contributions to music, Conger did not continue in a prominent role as a professional musician or s