Sri Lankan - American cellist and educator Amali Premawardhana was born in Chicago where she grew up playing piano for a while, under the guidance of her musician mother, Dhilanthi Fernando. She began lessons with Elizabeth Anderson at the Merit School of Music and later continued with Richard Hirschl of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Amali’s undergraduate studies started at Indiana University where she studied cello with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Cello Performance at the Manhattan School of Music as a student of Julia Lichten. During her education, Amali was fortunate to work with world-renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Ron Leonard, Nancy Lesh Kulkarni, Matt Haimovitz and Kurt Masur.
Passionate about teaching and impacting young lives, Amali completed her Masters in Education at the University of Bridgeport where her concentration was elementary and secondary music education. She also completed her long-term Suzuki Teacher Training at the New York School for Strings with Pamela Davenport, and is registered in Every Child Can and Cello Books 1-8. Amali has received additional Suzuki training from master teachers including Tanya Carey and Winifred Crock.
As a teacher, Amali served as Director of the Suzuki Strings program in Greenwich Public Schools, Connecticut, and also served on cello faculty at the Greenwich Suzuki Academy. She has enjoyed teaching cello and chamber music during summers at Kinhaven Music School in Vermont and Eastern US Music Camp based at Colgate University.
Amali is a long-time cellist with Distinguished Concerts International Orchestra of New York, which runs its seasons at Carnegie Hall. She co-leads Karavika, an improvising chamber folk ensemble, with Brooklyn-based violinist Trina Basu. Karavika blends Western classical music with folk and classical music of India and Sri Lanka. Karavika has been hailed by the New York Times as "a soulful blend of classical and folk traditions". San Francisco Classical Voice described Trina and Amali as "commanding performers... suggestive of some of the adventures of such crossover explorers as Edgar Meyer and Yo-Yo Ma."
As a collaborative artist, Amali has worked with Akshara Ensemble, a strings and percussion group led by mridangist and composer Bala Skandan. The group explores the rich and complex rhythmic and melodic systems of North and South Indian Music and has performed in concerts and workshops throughout the Northeast, including the Learnquest Festival for Indian Music in Massachusetts.
Additionally, Amali has had the distinct joy and honor of performing in several notable festivals, including New York’s Summerstage with vocal artist, Imani Uzuri, Jazz at Lincoln Center in collaboration with Kathak dancer, Parul Shah, Brooklyn Raga Massive’s Raga’s Live Festival at Pioneer Works, BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn Festival alongside Roy Hargrove and Brooklyn Raga Massive, the Classical Revolution Festival at venues across the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as several notable New York City venues such as the Blue Note, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Harlem Stage, Symphony Space and Joe’s Pub. She has performed and toured internationally with the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra’s “Daughter’s of Nina Simone,” an all-women ensemble led by vocal artist Tamar-Kali. Other notable appearances include the Kennedy Center, as the cellist for Le Cantanti di Chicago, Symphony Center in Chicago and South Asia Institute Chicago with musician and activitists, Sonny Singh and Qais Essar.
Currently, Amali is based in the Chicago area and directs elementary strings in Naperville Community Unit School District 203. She is the Cello Professor at Elmhurst University and regularly serves as a guest clinician throughout the city. An active freelancer, Amali plays with New Philharmonic Orchestra and highly enjoys collaborative projects and performing chamber music. She is married to double bassist, Perry Wortman and together they have three beautiful children who all play string instruments as well.
