Amy Schwartz Moretti

Director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings
The Caroline Paul King Violin Chair

Violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti has made solo and collaborative appearances that have taken her across the United States and abroad, performing in venues that include Weill Recital Hall, Rome’s Gonfalone Oratory, Severance Hall, Spivey Hall, Dali Museum, Edinburgh Castle, 92nd Street Y and the Crystal Cathedral. Her New York concerto debut was in Carnegie Hall. In recent engagements, she was featured soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Corvallis Symphony in Oregon for the closing concert of their 2008-2009 season and guest artist at the Winter Festival of the Seattle Chamber Music Society in Benaroya Hall. In summer 2009 she returned to perform at the Seattle, Amelia Island, and Madison Chamber Music Festivals. In 2008, she joined Robert McDuffie in Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins at the Aspen Music Festival, performed in Italy at the Rome Chamber Music Festival, made her solo debut with the Omaha Symphony and Music Director Thomas Wilkins, and was featured soloist at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina with Keith Lockhart conducting. 

Formerly Concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony in Portland and earlier, The Florida Orchestra in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, Ms. Moretti’s orchestral career spanned nearly eight seasons. In Florida, she served under music director Jahja Ling and his successor Stefan Sanderling, and in Oregon, music director Carlos Kalmar. She performed in the Oregon Symphony String Quartet and was artistic director of Florida’s Bay Area Music Summer Chamber Workshop for young musicians. The late Skitch Henderson invited her to serve as guest concertmaster of the New York Pops in Carnegie Hall and Bryant Park. She was guest concertmaster of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra with music director Michael Christie, and in a return engagement with the Oregon Symphony, was guest concertmaster with Itzhak Perlman on the conductor’s podium. During the 2008-2009 season, she served as concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for Haydn’s The Creation with music director Robert Spano and the ASO Chorus, and Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony with principal guest conductor Donald Runnicles. At neighborhood concerts in northeastern Ohio, she was concertmaster of CityMusic Cleveland with music director James Gaffigan and during the summer 2009, she performed with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra in Wyoming as concertmaster for music director Donald Runnicles and guest conductor Osmo Vänskä.

In 2007, Ms. Moretti was invited by international concert artist Robert McDuffie to join the faculty of the Mercer University Townsend School of Music as Director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings. A dedicated teacher she holds the Caroline Paul King Violin Chair and coordinates the Robert McDuffie and Friends Labor Day Festival for Strings as well as the Center’s chamber music performances off campus. In 2008 and 2009, Center students were presented in McDuffie Center Showcase Concerts collaborating with Mr. McDuffie and faculty at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival in Florida. Ms Moretti performs frequently with the distinguished artists of the McDuffie Center and since coming to Mercer, has joined her colleagues Christopher Rex, Atlanta Symphony Principal Cellist, and Elizabeth Pridgen, concert pianist, to form Trio RPM, which has appeared in Florida, Alabama and Georgia. In 2009 at the Madison Chamber Music Festival, they premiered Hardy’s Lark by Minnesota composer Libby Larsen that was commissioned for them in honor of the 200th anniversary season of Haydn and Mendelssohn and the city of Madison’s bicentennial year.  She also performs in the Moretti Duo with her husband, jazz drummer and classical percussionist Steve Moretti; a television profile of them was aired on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “ArtBeat” in 2006.  Frequently a guest at national and international music festivals, Ms. Moretti collaborated most recently with artists Andrew Armstrong, Robert deMaine, Andrés Díaz, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Robert McDuffie, Adam Neiman, Elmar Oliveira, Richard O’Neill, Bion Tsang and the Díaz Trio.  She has been heard in live performances and interviews broadcast on classical radio stations and streamed online. 

Born in Wisconsin, Ms. Moretti spent her childhood in eastern North Carolina and California, beginning violin at age four and soloing with the Winston-Salem Symphony at twelve. Winner of numerous awards and prizes including the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, she was presented in recital at the San Miguel de Allende International Music Festival in 1997 and the following year made her New York concerto debut in Carnegie Hall. Her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees are from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with distinguished artist/teacher Donald Weilerstein and graduated valedictorian. In 2005, she was honored with the Institute’s Alumni Achievement Award. Preparatory studies were at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Zaven Melikian, former concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra who continues to be her mentor. She began her studies with Suzuki pedagogue Joanne Bath and studied several summers at Meadowmount with Margaret Pardee, long-time Juilliard faculty member. Influential chamber music coaches include the late Isaac Stern, Peter Salaff, and the Cavani and Orion string quartets. With the Cavani String Quartet, she coached and performed in residencies for Chamber Music America. She was coached by some of the finest chamber musicians of our time as a Fellow at the Aspen Center for Advanced Quartet Studies and a participant in Isaac Stern’s Chamber Music Workshop in Carnegie Hall as well as the Intensive String Quartet Seminars at the Cleveland Institute. Throughout her career, Ms Moretti has been deeply committed to chamber music education. She developed Bay Area Music Summer Chamber Workshop in Florida, and Portland Summer Ensembles in Oregon to encourage young musicians to study and perform chamber music together.

Ms. Moretti resides in Macon, Georgia, with her husband and son, their dog and two cats. 

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