Aliayta is a violinist, composer and commissioner of new music.
Born in Vancouver, Canada, Aliayta has studied and worked across North America, Europe and the United Kingdom. She completed a BA in violin performance at the University of Victoria, an MA at the Royal Academy of Music, and is currently undertaking a PhD in Composition at Princeton University. Aliayta is a founding member of the Echea String Quartet, THIRTYMINUTES, Orbit Duo and apart together.
Aliayta has worked extensively with the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC and 12 Ensemble. This has included performances at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg with the LSO and Barbara Hannigan, and at the BBC Proms with Poppy Ajudha, Tiana Major9 and Kojey Radical. Aliayta collaborates on a range of interdisciplinary projects including an ongoing partnership with arts and design practice Kai Lab. In 2020, Aliayta worked with Pathway to Paris alongside Patti Smith, Olafur Eliasson, Joan Baez and Bill McKibben to deliver online events as part of World Environment Day and NYC Climate Week. More recently, Aliayta has performed with Max Richter at the Barbican Centre, played at Live at Lost River alongside artists including Patrick Watson and Martha Wainwright, and recorded on Esmerine’s Juno award-winning album Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More.
Performer
Aliayta co-founded and performed with the Echea Quartet from 2017 - 2022, and with the ensemble held Fellowships at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London. During this time, the quartet gained representation from City Music Foundation, Concordia Foundation, The Musicians’ Company, Hattori Foundation, Tillett Trust, and the Kirckman Concert Society. With Echea, Aliayta performed across Europe and North America at venues including Wigmore Hall and the Musikverein, was aired on BBC, NPR, and CBC, and won national and international competitions including the Paris Biennale’s ‘Tremplin’ and the Royal Overseas League. With the quartet, Aliayta worked with some of the world’s leading musicians including Marin Alsop, György Kurtág, Andrew Norman, and Thomas Adès.
echea quartet
Aliayta works as a composer and commissioner premiering new music. In 2020, she co-founded three interdisciplinary projects: Orbit Duo, THIRTYMINUTES and apart together. Through these projects, Aliayta has commissioned new works from composers including Olivia Shortt, Cris Derksen, Amy Brandon, and Robyn Jacob, premiered work at the Canadian Opera Company and Long Beach Opera, exhibited audiovisual pieces in galleries in London and Berlin, and with her sister Rebecca Foon, co-wrote the soundtrack for One & One Other, a film commissioned by the Baryshnikov Arts Center, directed by Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern and Emilie Leriche.