MEZZO - SOPRANO | CELLIST
About
Ameena Maria Khawaja is a cellist and mezzo-soprano, originally from the Bay Area. She studied cello in San Francisco & Los Angeles, and vocal performance privately in Italy and at the Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen, Germany. She is an active performer and teacher in both fields.
Ameena has worked on numerous studio recordings and live performances, and recently joined Alison Wonderland for two sold-out shows at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. Live shows include supporting Kamasi Washington at Walt Disney Concert Hall & the Hollywood Bowl, & Jeff Lynne’s ELO in New York and Los Angeles. She is often in the studio, recording for film, television, and pop/rock albums. Other artists with whom she has collaborated include: Sia, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Khalid, Coldplay, Jessie J., Mandy Moore, Mary J. Blige, Spacehog, Marc Anthony, Linda Perry, daKah Hip-Hop Orchestra, Switchfoot, Delta Goodrem, Rain Phoenix, Marco Antonio Solís, Trans Siberian Orchestra and many more. Ameena has had the opportunity to perform live at the Grammy Awards, as well as on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, NBC’s The Voice, American Idol, Coachella, and The Jimmy Kimmel Show.
Ameena has a passion for educating and mentoring young musicians and has taught both cello and voice for two decades. She is currently the Executive Director of YOSAL, was a Teaching Artist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Harmony Project, and the cello and chamber music instructor for YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) at EXPO whom she coached for their performance with Coldplay at the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show. Ameena has given master classes at the Grammy Museum in Hollywood, coached for the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra, was a staff member at the Pacific Crest Music Festival, and maintains a full studio of private and chamber music students.
Ameena studied and performed musical theatre in San Francisco, improv comedy in Los Angeles and opera throughout the United States and Europe. She currently lives in the Monterey Bay Area with her husband, conductor Danko Druško.
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