Melia Watras

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Melia Watras is a prominent American violist. Known for her expertise in chamber music and contemporary music she has performed numerous commissions and world premieres as a soloist and co-founder of the award-winning Corigliano Quartet. Ms. Watras has performed in Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center and at festivals such as Aspen and Ravinia. As the violist of the Corigliano Quartet, she has received awards such as the Grand Prize at the Fischoff Competition and the ASCAP/CMA Award for Adventurous Programming.

As a recording artist, Watras appears on numerous recordings by the Corigliano Quartet. Her debut solo CD, Viola Solo, released by Fleur De Son, features world premiere recordings of pieces by Andrew Waggoner and Paola Prestini, as well as the first recording on viola of John Corigliano’s Fancy on a Bach Air. She has appeared with the Corigliano Quartet on NPR’s All Things Considered and Performance Today and WFMT-Chicago’s Live from Studio One.

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 assistant for many years, and was a member of the faculty as a Visiting Lecturer. She went on to study chamber music at the Juilliard School, while also teaching as an assistant to the Juilliard String Quartet. Watras is currently Assistant Professor of Viola at the University of Washington School of Music, where she teaches viola and chamber music.

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