Described as “a remarkable and auspicious talent” by The Sydney Morning Herald and praised for her “transforming intensity and beauty of tone” by Allan Kozinn of the New York Times, Australian violinist Asmira Woodward-Page has received international recognition for her artistry. As First Prize winner of the 2003 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, she was awarded the Victor and Sono Elmaleh Prize, a management contract with CAG, composer commission, and her New York solo recital debut at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall the following year. This spring she will return to Weill on April 9^th 2008 with pianist Steven Beck performing a 20^th century program entitled “Dusk to Dawn”. See “engagements” for sneak previews of this show in other cities.

Ms. Woodward-Page performs internationally as soloist and chamber musician, appearing last season in New York City as guest soloist with SONYC (the unconducted String Orchestra of NYC) and The Little Orchestra Society. Anya Grundmann of Symphony magazine recently singled her out in a feature story as one of six “young solo artists in peak form…who typify the talent and breadth of the best in a new generation of classical-music hopefuls.” She has soloed with her native Australia’s major orchestras; the Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland Symphonies. In North America she has also performed with the Evanston, Altoona, Wartburg, Oakville and Indiana University Symphonies, the Charlotte and Colgate Philharmonics, and the Metropolitan Orchestra of New Jersey. She has collaborated with many conductors including Andre Previn, Kurt Masur, Christopher Hogwood, Jahja Ling, Michael Christie, Muhai Tang, Matthew Coorey and Nicholas Braithwaite.

Ms. Woodward-Page was recently presented in recital by both the Ravinia Festival’s Rising Stars and Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago (the latter broadcast and televised on public radio and television), the Rockerfeller University’s Tri-Institutional Noon Recital concerts, The Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, the University of Central Florida, Macon Concert Association, Saint Vincent College Concert Series, Maverick Concerts’ “Music in the Woods” series and several libraries in the New York City area.  She has toured with pianists Inon Barnatan, Ieva Jokubavičiute and Einav Yarden, and concertized extensively in her native Australia with pianist Scott Davie. Her debut album of Australian music was selected by ABC-FM and 2MBS-FM (Australia) as CD of the Week. “Both Woodward-Page and Davie are inspired interpreters encouraging return visits to the disc”, writes Rob Barnett of musicweb-international.com. Ms. Woodward-Page is heard frequently on national radio and TV in Australia, where she was recently the cover story in Australia's Fine Music magazine and the subject of two ABC-TV features: "The Little Box that Sings" and Andrea Stretton's "Sunday Afternoon."

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Woodward-Page has collaborated in concert with artists like Gilbert Kalish, Miriam Fried, Inon Barnatan, Nina Lee, Mark Kosower, Lara St.John, Corey Cerovsek, Jennifer Frautschi, guitarist Slava Grigoryan, soprano Lauren Flanagan, the Avalon and Antares Quartets, the Omega Ensemble, and toured with Ravinia’s Rising Stars. Her North American summer festival appearances include Ravinia, Aspen, Internacional Cervantino (Mexico), Cooperstown, Manchester and Maui and her chamber music collaborations have included guest appearances with performances in New York City venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Columbia University’s Miller Theater; also Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum among others. Her wide musical interests have led to collaborations with hip hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West, jazz clarinetist Don Byron, and to India where she studied Hindusthani Classical music with Pandit Prabakhar Dhakde.

As a passionate advocate of contemporary music, Ms. Woodward-Page has received recognition for her interpretation of this music. For three years she was the violinist of counter)induction, the five-musician/two-composer collective who receive frequent praise from the New York Times for its contemporary music performances: “What kept the program fascinating was the vitality the players brought to the music. These performances were not merely dutiful; they sang and danced.”  She is also a founding member and rotating concertmaster of SONYC (String Orchestra of New York City); the twenty-member conductorless ensemble featured in the documentary “Breathing Together”.  Their recently released debut album on the Albany Records label features the music of New York composers Christopher Theofanidis, Lisa Bielawa, Michael Gatonska and Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Moravec, who describes this group as “a composer's dream come true. Their amazing virtuosity, comprehensive artistic intelligence and passionate spirit combine to make brilliant music on every level. SONYC is an avatar of all that is right and true in our musical universe."   

Aside from her Concert Artists Guild competition win in New York City, Ms. Woodward-Page is the recipient of many awards internationally.  Among them she has garnered prizes at the Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition of Belgium and won Sydney’s 2MBS-FM Young Performer of the Year award. She is the four-time winner of the City of Sydney Violin Award, two-time winner of the Australian Music Foundation in London Award, recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Music Award, the Ernest Llewellyn String Award.  She also won the Gisbourne International Wind String and Brass Competition, Dorcas McClean Violin Competition (Australia), and the Indiana University Concerto Competition.

Asmira believes deeply in presenting music to young people through whatever means necessary to inspire in them a love for Classical music. She has lead many outreach programs individually, and with SONYC in New York City’s public schools and across the country, drawing upon her extensive teaching and performing experience…and a few crazy ideas.

Asmira Woodward-Page began her violin studies with Jan Cooper then Harry Curby at Sydney University's Conservatorium of Music, and later became a student of Miriam Fried and Paul Biss at the Indiana University School of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music and Artist Diploma, and was awarded the Performer’s Certificate for outstanding musical performance. She went on to earn a Master of Music degree at Juilliard where she studied with Robert Mann. She currently lives in Brooklyn New York.