appeared at the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall and festivals including Aspen and Ravinia. Ms. Watras’s debut solo CD, Viola Solo, was released by Fleur De Son (www.fleurdeson.com) and earned high praise from the media. 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. With the Corigliano Quartet, she 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. 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. While still in high school, Watras drew attention by winning the National Wendell Irish Award.  Her formal studies took her to Indiana University, where she studied with  >> copyright © 2005 site design and development by mikel watras