Amelia Smerz (she/her), originally from Chicago, Illinois, began playing cello at the age of five after falling in love with the lowest sounds of the orchestra at a community symphony concert. Since then, she has grown up with an approach to music that centers upon expression, connection and enjoyment. Today, Amelia explores these values further as a founding member of the Trillium String Quartet and a passionate performer/educator based in Cleveland, Ohio.
Amelia has played in orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. She has appeared in concert alongside Yo Yo Ma, ICE Ensemble, Time for Three, Third Coast Percussion Ensemble, Ben Folds, Blue Man Group, Bela Fleck and the Attacca Quartet. Amelia was honored as winner of the Brevard Music Festival’s Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition in 2019. From 2022-2024, Amelia served as a rotating Principal Cellist in The Orchestra Now at Bard College, serving as principal for three of the orchestra’s Carnegie Hall cycles and for the recording of their recent CD Exodus: Jewish Composers in Exile.
Amelia holds degrees from DePauw University, McGill University and Montclair State University. Her primary teachers have included Eric Edberg, Elizabeth Dolin, Tomoko Fujita, Eric Weiss and Si-Yan Darren Li.
In her free time, Amelia loves cooking, attending concerts, playing games and spending time with her friends, family, and pets.