Nathan Amaral, violinist

Recently awarded the Grand Prize of both the Concert Artist Guild (CAG) and Young Concert Artist Trust (YCAT) competitions, Nathan Amaral is the first prize winner of the 2024 Sphinx Competition. Yo-Yo Mad has described him as "one of the rare musicians who not only possesses the gift of ample technical ability but uses it to transcend technique, getting to the heart and soul of musical expression… he draws his audiences in with a great range of color and emotion.”

Nathan has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and was named Classic FM 30 under 30 Rising Stars, having performed at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, KKL at Lucerne Festival, Symphony Hall in Boston and Konzerthaus Dortmund. Nathan’s recent engagements include his tour as soloist with the Chineke! Orchestra performing at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London’s Southbank Centre and throughout the UK, as well as his Decca debut album recording with Chineke!    

He has been awarded first and special prizes in numerous international competitions including the Paul Roczek Award at Mozarteum University Salzburg, Wiener Klassik Preis in Vienna, CIMA International Competition, Waslau Borkowski Violin Competition, the Eleazar de Carvalho Competition (the most significant prize for young musicians in Brazil), and the Ruggiero Ricci Violin Competition. Nathan's past chamber music partners include Hilary Hahn, Tabea Zimmermann, Donald Weilerstein, Anthony Marwood, Paul Lewis, Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective and he has been invited over the years to the Krzyzowa Music Festival, Yellow Barn and Open Chamber Music (IMS Pussia Cove). He has attended masterclasses hosted by Pinchas Zukerman, Midori Goto, Ferenc Rados, Miriam Fried, Gerhard Schulz, and Christoph Poppen.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Nathan received his first violin lessons at the age of twelve as part of a social project in the favela of Mangueira. The project was intended as a recreational initiative to take children out of the streets due to the high risk of criminality and drug abuse. In a class of 200 students he was the only one who kept pursuing music, and to give back to his community in 2021 Nathan founded his own festival – Week of Musical Integration – to support and teach young musicians from difficult backgrounds in Brazil. His initiative has gained visibility and interest on major TV channels in Brazil, including a documentary made of his life. With the belief that music should be accessible to everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or financial class, together with his performing career, Nathan’s personal mission is to establish an institution for underprivileged music students and people of color in his hometown. Nathan is a graduate of the New England Conservatory on full scholarship under the guidance of Donald Weilerstein and has been appointed as Thomastik Infeld Artist and Coregami Ambassador.