Described as “staggeringly virtuosic” by The Strad, violist Melia Watras (www.meliawatras.com)
has long been at the forefront of the American new music scene, both as a soloist and co-founder of
the award-winning Corigliano Quartet (www.coriglianoquartet.com). Throughout her career, Watras
has championed the works of living composers: commissioning, premiering and recording numerous
new works for the solo viola and for string quartet, while appearing in the nation’s leading venues
including Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center. The 2010-11
season will include the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winner Shulamit Ran’s solo viola piece,
Perfect Storm, written for Watras.
Watras’s expanding discography has garnered considerable attention and praise from the media.
Of her debut solo CD, Viola Solo, Strings remarked, “Watras is a young player in possession of
stunning virtuosic talent and deserving of the growing acclaim.” The Strad called her “excellent” and
“authoritative,” while the American Record Guide proclaimed, "Watras is a terrific violist." For the
CD, Watras adapted John Corigliano’s Fancy on a Bach Air for viola. Her edition of this work is
published by G. Schirmer, Inc. Watras’s second solo CD, Prestidigitation, features world premiere
recordings of five works written especially for her and was described by Strings as “astounding, and
both challenging and addictive to listen to.” Her upcoming third disc will include short, stylistically
diverse works from composers ranging from Henri Vieuxtemps to Gyorgy Ligeti.
With the Corigliano Quartet, Watras has concertized extensively throughout the United States
and abroad, performing to much critical acclaim. Described as “musicians who seem to say
‘Listen to this!’” by the New York Times, the quartet’s 2007 CD release on the Naxos label was
named one of the Ten Best Classical CDs of the Year by The New Yorker and prompted
Gramophone to proclaim, “the unbridled force and full-metal virtuosity that the Corigliano
Quartet unleash on this music is astounding.” The group has won awards such as the Grand
Prize at the Fischoff Competition and the ASCAP/CMA Award for Adventurous Programming.
The Corigliano Quartet has recorded for Naxos, Albany, Bayer, CRI, Riax, and Aguava and has
appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and Performance Today and WFMT-Chicago’s Live
from Studio One.
A versatile performer, Watras has enjoyed collaborations with dance and theater. She played
viola and danced in the premiere of Kathryn Sullivan's At Home, at the Merce Cunningham
Studio in New York City. Music from her Viola Solo CD was featured in director Sheila Daniels’s
production of Crime and Punishment at Intiman Theatre, and she worked as music consultant
for Braden Abraham’s production of Opus at Seattle Repertory Theatre.
Melia Watras was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and began her musical studies on the piano at
age 5. Soon after, she turned to the viola and made her debut at age 16, soloing with the Dayton
Philharmonic Orchestra. Her formal studies took her to 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, Watras began her teaching career as
Professor Arad’s Associate Instructor, and was a member of the faculty as a Visiting Lecturer.
She went on to study chamber music at the Juilliard School while serving as a teaching assistant
to the Juilliard String Quartet.
Watras serves as Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Washington, where she is
chair of the string department and a Donald E. Petersen Endowed Fellow. Watras currently
resides in Seattle with her husband, Corigliano Quartet violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim. She plays a
viola made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz.
September 2010
