Major: Instrumental Performance
Instrument: Violin
Stamps Ensemble Name: Stamps String Quartet Class of 2022
Lydia Newton, violin, is majoring in Instrumental Performance at the Frost School of Music located at the University of Miami, where she is a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholar, Class of 2022.
Lydia Newton is from Moss Point, MS, and studies violin with Sonja Foster of Atlanta, GA. Previous teachers include Enen Yu (Mobile, AL) and Jivka Jeleva Duke (Baton Rouge, LA). Lydia has been a state winner in Music Teacher's National Association (MTNA) String Solo Performance competition for three years. In 2016, she placed first in the MTNA Southern Division Junior String competition and competed as a finalist at the MTNA National Convention in TX. Lydia has won various other competitions and has been awarded music education grants from the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation (2018) and The Performing Arts Consortium (2016). During past summers, Lydia has attended the Castleman Quartet Program (2017) and the inaugural season of National Youth Orchestra Two (NYO2) of Weil Institute, Carnegie Hall (2016). She has twice served as concertmaster of Alabama All-State Orchestra Festival. She has soloed with the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra (2017), the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (2017, 2015), the Georgia Philharmonic Orchestra (2015), and the Southeastern Louisiana University Chamber Orchestra (2010, 2009). In January, 2017, Lydia presented private recitals in Hilton Head, SC, as a guest of "Young Artist Performances" concert series, and in October 2017, she gave recitals in Charleston under the sponsorship of "Music Matters!" Counting it a privilege to share the gift of music, Lydia has relished a variety of musical “projects” over the years, many involving collaboration with musician siblings. In April 2018, she premiered “Route 7 Rhapsody,” her brother's violin-piano sonata, with her pianist sister at Williams College, MA. Beyond her musical pursuits, Lydia enjoys running, reading non-fiction, sketching portraits, and participating in her church.
