Soloist

Maya Anjali Buchanan, violin

Recognized for her enchanting performances and exceptional bel canto-like lyricism, Indian-American violinist, Maya Anjali Buchanan, is gaining wide appeal as a dynamic young artist with extraordinary musicality. Named Yamaha’s 2020 Young Performing Artist for Classical Music/Violin she has performed on three continents garnering enthusiastic reviews.

Maya has performed in recital and as the featured soloist with numerous orchestras throughout the United States, in China and Europe. She appeared as a guest artist at the Peninsula Music Festival, Harpa International Academy Festival, Brevard Music Festival and made her Aspen Music Festival debut as the recipient of the prestigious 2019 Dorothy DeLay Fellowship Award performing the Glazunov Violin Concerto with the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra. Describing her Aspen performance, Alan Fletcher, President of Aspen Festival writes, “an immensely appealing artist...with a deep musical understanding, … her [Glazunov Concerto] had great beauty of tone” and The Daily Gazette writes “...she played this very romantic work with a deep rich tone, facile technique and a sweetly romantic lyricism” following her 2022 Albany Symphony debut. Highlights of forthcoming engagements include performances with the Evanston, Grand Rapids and Galveston Symphony Orchestras and the Symphony Orchestra of India in Mumbai.

At sixteen, Maya captured First Prize in the 2017 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition and made her solo debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She is a top medalist of the 2018 Washington International Competition, 2018 Stulberg International String Competition, 2016 Stradivarius International Violin Competition and 2015 Johansen International Competition. Maya is an alumnus of both the 2020 Menuhin International Violin Competition and the 2022 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

In an effort to broaden Western classical music traditions, Maya unveils the music of her heritage by presenting pieces unique to her Indian ancestry, bridging her Eastern roots with her Western classical training. She enjoys showcasing works of Indian influence that reflect the form and improvisational quality of Eastern music, blending techniques of both cultures. An alumna of the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, she studied with Almita Vamos. She currently attends the famed Curtis Institute of Music in the studio of pedagogue Ida Kavafian. Maya performs with a c. 1730 Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society of Chicago.