About Kelsey Amis

Kelsey Amis began learning piano for 5 years and shortly after, took up the violin by the age of 14. Kelsey has received both her Bachelor’s and Masters in Music Performance for Violin with a minor in Viola at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA. There she studied under Dr. Marc Ramirez and Dr. Olivia Hajioff who are also the founders and members of the award-winning violin and violin/viola duo, “Marcolivia.” During part of her Masters, Kelsey also studied under Akemi Takayama, who is known as one of the members of the well-known string quartet, “The Audubon Quartet.” Kelsey has also studied under other known violin instructors such as David Dillard of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and Vladimir Yampolsky.

Kelsey has been teaching violin for 8 years and has done some freelance work on the side as a violin teacher/coach for Chamblee Charter High School Orchestra and for the Dekalb Youth Symphony Orchestra, both run by Dr. Earl Kuutti, who is also her former High School music teacher and conductor.

She was a member of various orchestras in Atlanta, growing up, including the Buckhead Youth Symphony Orchestra, Dekalb Youth Symphony Orchestra and has won 2nd place in the Atlanta, GA Bach competition after playing for only a few years. Prior to attending Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, Kelsey performed at numerous music festivals such as Heifetz International Music Institute, North Carolina School of the Arts, Brevard Music Festival and was concertmaster one summer for the UGA Music Festival to name a few. While achieving her Bachelor's and Masters Degrees in Music Performance, Kelsey played professionally in the pit orchestra for most of the university's musicals/operas. She is also one of the founding members of, “The Bay Quartet,” a chamber music group who performed mainly in the Northern Virginia/Washington, DC area.