Amy Licata was born in Richland, Washington where she began fiddling at five years old.  When she was eight she competed in the National Junior Fiddling competition, finishing third. After a family move to the East Coast, Amy’s fiddling took a classical turn. She attended the New School of Music in Philadelphia, where her quartet took First Place in the Junior Division of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. She was also named a Winner of the WFLN Young Instrumentalists Competition. In 1983 she enrolled in the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia studying under Yascha Brodsky and Aaron Rosand. In 1986 she was the winner of the National Symphony Orchestra Young Soloist Competition. Her summers included studying with the Tokyo String Quartet as part of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the American String Quartet as part of the Taos School of Music Chamber Music Festival in 1987 and 1988. She graduated from Curtis in 1988 and joined the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Amy has performed with the Ars Nova Musicians, Buffalo Chamber Music players, and has enjoyed countless local performances as a soloist as well as in duets and trios. Amy never lost her love of fiddling and has created numerous arrangements for fiddle and orchestra which she has performed with the BPO. Beyond classical music and fiddle tunes, Amy played the violin solo in “Take the A Train” on the BPO tribute to Duke Ellington, garnering praise that compared her to jazz violinist Stephane Grapelli. Amy lives in Buffalo with her husband John an their four children.