Winner of first prize and the audience choice award at the 24th Annual Sphinx Competition, American violinist Amaryn Olmeda is a rising star sought after for her bold and expressive performances as a soloist and collaborator.Violinist.com says of Olmeda, “...her commanding stage presence, infallible technique, and interpretive ability already rival that of international concert stage veterans.”

Highlights of the 2026-2027 season include opening weekend performances with the Tucson, Albany, and Ann Arbor Symphonies. As this season’s Artist-in-Residence with the Tucson Symphony, she will return for an additional series of self-curated “Up Close” chamber concerts. She makes her debut with The Cliburn and Fort Worth Symphony with Robert Spano; Lancaster Symphony with Michael Butterman; Symphony Nova Scotia; and Victoria Symphony (TX).

Olmeda returns in appearance with the Sphinx Organization for their 25th Anniversary Gala at Carnegie Hall. She will make her debut in recital with the Hayti Heritage Center and Pepperdine University.

Olmeda made her New York Philharmonic debut at David Geffen Hall in July 2026 to a sold-out audience and rave reception. Her solo debut at Lincoln Center was featured on the 2024 Summer for the City Series. Later that season, she returned to David Geffen Hall on the New York Philharmonic’s Kravis Nightcap Series with violinist Hilary Hahn and principal ballet dancer Tiler Peck. She made her Carnegie Hall solo debut on the Sphinx Virtuosi tour at the age of 14, garnering rave reviews.

Recent highlights include debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, and Calgary Philharmonic, as well as return appearances with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Stockton Symphony, and Auburn Symphony. Recital highlights include debuts with Vivo Performing Arts (formerly Celebrity Series of Boston) and the Kravis Center for Performing Arts.

In 2023, she recorded Carlos Simon’s Between Worlds on Deutsche Grammophon, praised by The Strad as “an impressive reading by the young musician.” In 2022, Olmeda performed for the San Francisco Conservatory Gala with Yuja Wang. At 13, Olmeda became the first member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Opus 3 Artist’s Artist Apprentice Program.

Born in 2008, Olmeda currently studies at the New England Conservatory of Music with Miriam Fried. She previously studied with Ian Swensen at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Olmeda performs on a violin by Nicola Bergonzi, made in Cremona circa 1796, on generous loan from Reuning & Son Violins.

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ACCLAIM

“Olmeda is clearly on her way to a stellar career. Combining a charismatic stage presence and audience appeal with pinpoint intonation, intense lyricism, and fluid technique, she gave notice that she is here to stay.”

– Classical Voice North America

“Prodigy is a big word to throw around. But in the case of our next guest, there may be no better description.”
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– 90.9 KXJZ Capital Public Radio

"[A] Bay Area violin prodigy”

– San Francisco Chronicle

“[…] her commanding stage presence, infallible technique, and interpretive ability already rival that of international concert stage veterans.”

– Violinist.com

“Olmeda’s performance had a profoundly mystical quality, capturing a full range of emotions throughout the plaintive G-minor opening and the fiendishly virtuosic chromatic section built on tritones ("the Devil’s interval") which, from her capable hands and searing intellect, brought images of the spirit world.”

– Violinist.com

“[...] played with dazzling pyrotechnics by Amaryn Olmeda using every violin trick in the book. Wonderful, wonderful!!”

– ConcertoNet.com

“Violinist Amaryn Olmeda, first-prize winner at the 24th annual Sphinx Competition, is a remarkable talent. And at 15, she is no mere hotshot - she plays with nuance and fresh interpretive ideas, investing more into Ravel’s “Tzigane” than just faux-Gypsy showiness. The crowd responded to her every impetuous gesture and flourish, applauding quickly at every pause and then extravagantly at the close.”

– Cleveland.com