Who we are
Camellia Camerata presents curated chamber music events. We partner with local artists, organizations, and unique locations to celebrate and expand the cultural scene of our region. Our outreach initiatives bring the joy of music to all members of our community through performances and outreach. Our initiatives include, but are not limited to: comprehensive learning opportunities for aspiring musicians such as educational programs, festivals, music camps, masterclasses, and competitions. Camellia Camerata mentors the next generation of musicians as well as adult music learners by providing spaces for musicians at all levels to explore and share their musical ideas.
Carlos Castilla
Holland Phillips
Carlos Castilla has been featured as a soloist with orchestras and chamber ensembles, as well as in solo recitals across various cities in Latin America and the United States. Dr. Castilla holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Los Andes University in Bogotá, Colombia, where he studied with Maestro Jaime Arias Obregón. He also holds both a Master's degree and a Doctorate in Guitar Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied with Dr. Nicholas Ciraldo. Before relocating to the United States, Carlos served as a guitar professor at Universidad del Atlántico in his hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia. There, he also founded and directed the Philharmonic Society of Barranquilla, an institution that organized and promoted a wide range of cultural events within the community. A dedicated educator, Carlos has held teaching positions at several higher education institutions across the United States. He now resides in Fayetteville, NC, where he is the owner and director of the Fayetteville School of Music. For his role at the school, Carlos was named one of the top 30 music professionals in the United States by Musical America Worldwide, in 2023.
Megan Kenny
Megan Kenny is Associate Concertmaster of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. A native of Montana, she holds a Master of Music degree in violin performance from the Yale School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame. Her principal teachers have been Syoko Aki, Carolyn Plummer, and Mary Lamonaca, and she received chamber coachings from Martin Beaver of the Tokyo Quartet while at Yale. Megan is an active orchestral and chamber musician and before her return to Fayetteville, she performed as a member of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. She has worked with conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Peter Oundjian, JoAnne Falletta, and soloists including Ray Chen, Augustin Hadelich, Lang Lang, David Shifrin and Orli Shaham. As an educator, Megan has held teaching positions at the University of North Carolina Pembroke and Campbell University and is a faculty member of the Red Lodge Music Festival. Megan resides in Fayetteville and is a proud Army spouse to her husband, Ryan, and mother of twins, John and Mary.
Pianist Amanda Virelles has performed as a soloist and collaborative artist throughout the United States, Europe, South and Central America, and the Caribbean. She began her piano studies in Cuba, continued at the Moscow State Conservatory Tchaikovsky, and earned her MFA degree from the Russian Academy of Music Gnessins in Moscow, Russia. Amanda also holds a Master's Degree and a Doctoral Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Southern Mississippi. In addition, she has received national and international piano performance awards. Dr. Virelles has taught piano and chamber music at various universities both in the US and abroad and has been on the faculty at Fayetteville State University since 2013. Recently, she received a Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching from the UNC System. Alongside her academic work, Amanda regularly performs with the award-winning 4HANDS Piano Duo, with Czech pianist Kristina Henckel, and Duo Guitiano, with her husband and guitarist, Carlos Castilla. She is also a member of several academic and cultural organizations, including the Latin Grammy Recording Academy. Amanda’s solo and duo recordings are available on all digital platforms.
Violinist and violist Holland Phillips was born in Mississippi and raised by North Carolinian parents. It was only natural that she would eventually call North Carolina home. She and her family relocated to Rockingham, North Carolina from Portland, Oregon in October of 2020. In Oregon, she taught at Pacific University and Lewis and Clark College. She simultaneously served as the principal violist of the Eugene Symphony. Her busy career also included performing regularly with musicians of the Oregon Symphony, the 45th Parallel Universe, Mousai REMIX string quartet, the Oregon Bach Festival, and the Portland Chamber Orchestra. She has played under the batons of John Williams, Giancarlo Guerrero, Helmuth Rilling, and Marin Alsop as well as accompanied Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, and Renée Fleming. Holland continues to travel back west to perform as principal violist of both OrchestraNext (Eugene Ballet) and the Sunriver Music Festival. She currently teaches at the University Of North Carolina at Pembroke and plays in several orchestras in the North Carolina region, including as a member of the first violin section of the Fayetteville Symphony. Holland completed her doctoral studies at the University of Oregon with her dissertation, “Tidens Fylde: Temporality and Tradition in Carl Nielsen’s Works for Violin.” She also holds degrees from Vanderbilt University (summa cum laude), and the New England Conservatory(honors). She also holds diplomas from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the Leipzig Hochschule für Musikund Theater in Leipzig, Germany.
Amanda Virelles
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