Svetlana Lavrova graduated from the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in 1994, completing her composition studies under the supervision of Professor V.I. Tsytovich, followed by an assistantship-internship completed in 1996. In 2001, she undertook advanced research and practical training at the Koninklijk Conservatorium (Royal Conservatoire) in The Hague, working under Martijn Padding and Louis Andriessen. Her professional development includes participation in the 2008 Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music, where she engaged in masterclasses and consultations with prominent figures of contemporary music, including Brian Ferneyhough, Wolfgang Rihm, György Kurtág, and Marco Stroppa.

Her pedagogical career began in 1994 at the Specialized Music School of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, subsequently expanding to a faculty appointment at the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in 2000. Lavrova’s institutional and curatorial leadership includes serving as the artistic director of the Group of New Music ensemble (established 1995) and heading the Multimedia Composers Association since 2002. She has been a member of the Union of Composers of Russia since 1998.

As a curator and artistic director, she conceptualized and founded the contemporary music festival Vremya Muzyki fin de siècle (The Time of Music fin de siècle). Her creative output is frequently featured in international contemporary music forums, including the International Gaudeamus Workshop (Amsterdam), the Young Composers Meeting (Apeldoorn), Sound Ways, Moscow Forum, and Musical Spring. Her current scholarly work focuses on research in the field of New Music aesthetics, while her compositions are regularly performed within domestic and international repertoires.