Amaryn Olmeda

Friday, November 6, 2026

Hayti Heritage Center

Winner of first prize and the Audience Choice Award at the 24th Annual Sphinx Competition, 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 2025–2026 include debut performances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Tallahassee Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Williamsburg Symphony, and Shreveport Symphony, as well as return appearances with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Stockton Symphony, and Auburn Symphony. Olmeda made her Lincoln Center solo debut on the 2024 Summer for the City series. Later that season, she returned for her solo debut at David Geffen Hall on the New York Philharmonic’s Kravis Nightcap series. She made her Carnegie Hall solo debut on the Sphinx Virtuosi tour at the age of fourteen, garnering rave reviews.

Recent highlights include debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra at their New Year’s Concert series, earning her a nomination for the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, in 2008, Amaryn Olmeda 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 made by J. B. Vuillaume in 1864.

Open Stu: Juneteenth Edition

By Ashley Strahm • June 4, 2026

Open Stu: Juneteenth Edition Saturday, June 20, 2026, 7-11 PM Hayti Heritage Center, Free, Open to all Open Stu is a living documentary project born right here in Durham. Co-created by artists Derrick Beasley and Marcella Zigbuo Camara, it's a space to cultivate and document Black creative community — rooted in the tradition of Scurlock's studio portraiture, the Kamoinge Collective, and the pop-up gatherings of the Harlem Renaissance. On Juneteenth, it comes home to Hayti. Come sit for a portrait with Derrick. Explore archival ephemera curated by Marcella. Let the DJ move you. Grab a drink. Stay a while. This is your invitation to be seen, documented, and celebrated — right where you belong. Free and open to all.