AMALIA
VIOLIN
Amalia Young is a violinist based between Oxford and London, primarily interested in performing and researching contemporary and experimental music. She completed her Bachelor’s degree as a scholar at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Philippe Honoré, graduating with first class honours and the Doris Faulkener Prize for violin. She is currently reading for a Master’s degree in music performance the University of Oxford, and studies with Mira Benjamin. Her main artistic and research interests include embodiment, philosophies of listening, and musical explorations of otherness. At the moment she feels particularly absorbed in exploring Zen practice, the philosophy of Henri Bergson, and the composers of the Wandelweiser group.
Amalia has performed extensively as a recitalist and chamber musician across the UK, including performances at St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Athenaeum Club, Elgar’s Birthplace (the Firs), the Holywell Music Room, the Royal Over-Seas League House and Café OTO as part of the Kammer Klang series. She has also performed in public masterclasses for Maxim Vengerov, Michael Finnissy, and the Castalian String Quartet. In 2019, Amalia was a performance fellow on the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice at the New England Conservatory, performing works by George Lewis and Iannis Xenakis at the NEC and at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. In 2020 and 2021, she was awarded a Fresh Voices scholarship to the Chicago-based Fresh Inc Festival. Amalia particularly enjoys collaborating with composers and has recently premiered solo violin works by Jordan Hunt and Martin Butler, as well as a chamber work by Ross Harris for her ensemble the Kavinsky Trio (violin/saxophone/piano). The Kavinsky Trio were mixed ensemble category finalists in the Royal Over-Seas League competition in 2020, and were awarded Highly Commended in the Isaacs and Pirani prize (2019) and the Harold Craxton prize (2021) at the Royal Academy of Music. At the RAM, Amalia was also awarded 2nd place in the Winifred Small prize for solo violin (2021).
Deeply invested in the social relevance of music, Amalia is a Young Artist Musical Ambassador for the Sussex-based Music Mind Spirit Trust with whom she has led musical community engagement sessions in association with Live Music Now across the UK.
Amalia is hugely excited to explore the scope of diverse musical, experimental, and interdisciplinary projects possible within the Komuna Collective.