Melia Watras
| Melia Watras | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Violist, professor |
| Instruments | Viola |
| Website | http://www.meliawatras.com |
Melia Watras is a prominent American violist and professor of viola. As a soloist, chamber musician and recording artist, Watras has championed the works of living composers throughout her career. She has commissioned, premiered and recorded numerous new compositions, while appearing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Watras attended Indiana University, where she studied with Abraham Skernick and Atar Arad, earning Bachelor’s and master's degrees and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. While at Indiana, she served as Arad’s teaching assistant. She studied chamber music at the Juilliard School, while also teaching as an assistant to the Juilliard String Quartet.
As a recording artist, Watras has garnered considerable attention and praise from the media. Her solo CDs have been recognized by publications such as Gramophone (which hailed her as “an artist of commanding and poetic personality”), The Strad, ("staggeringly virtuosic") and Strings (“Watras is a young player in possession of stunning virtuosic talent and deserving of the growing acclaim”). She has been heard on numerous radio programs, including NPR’s All Things Considered and Performance Today, and a live performance for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.
Composers that have written solo viola works especially for Watras include: Brent Michael Davids, Richard Karpen, Shih-Wei Lo, Juan Pampin, Joshua Parmenter, Shulamit Ran, Kathryn Sullivan, Heinrich Taube, Diane Thome, Andrew Waggoner, and Anna Weesner. As a soloist and chamber musician, Watras has given world premieres of works by Atar Arad, John Corigliano, Brent Michael Davids, Tina Davidson, Alexander De Varon, Joël-François Durand, Jesse Jones, Richard Karpen, Garth Knox, Michael Jinsoo Lim, Shih-Wei Lo, Patrick Long, Eric Maestri, Anthony Moore, Jeffrey Mumford, Ichiro Nodaira, Juan Pampin, Joshua Parmenter, Robert Pound, Shulamit Ran, Adam Silverman, Kathryn Sullivan, Sir John Taverner, Heinrich Taube, Diane Thome, Dan Visconti, Andrew Waggoner, Anna Weesner, Frances White, Theodore Wiprud, Tamar Witkin and Mischa Zupko.
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