CLASSICAL, MODERN POP, CONTEMPORARY, TOP-40
Amber was born in the North West Territories of the Canadian Arctic to artist parents Maureen Walton and Michael Amar. She spent her youth growing up in rural Eastern Ontario where she began playing cello at age three. During her formative years as a cellist she lived in Holland, and studied in Italy and Germany. Later, she earned her BA at the University of Toronto, and her MA from DePaul University, in cello performance.
Performing on a commissioned cello made by David Wiebe, Amber’s career has included touring Canada, Europe and China with various symphonies and ensembles. She toured Canada with the Thin Edge New Music Collective with whom she released a full length album recorded at Glenn Gould Studios. Her many collaborations include artists and ensembles such as KYGO, SYML, Shawn Mendes, Leif Vollebekk, and Classic Albums Live. Other performance highlights include work with TIFF and TedX. As a freelance cellist, Amber has performed for Prime Ministers, Presidents, dignitaries and movie stars – at storied venues such as Roy Thomson Hall, Koerner Hall, Chicago Symphony Center, Amsterdam Paradiso and Berlin’s Kesselhaus.
When not performing, Amber teaches cello to adults and children – holding multiple certifications through the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the Royal Conservatory of Music, and the Creative Ability Development method for improvisation. She has held teaching positions at Chicago’s Columbia College, Valparaiso University, Royal Conservatory of Music, the North York Suzuki Conservatory as well as teaching privately at her home studio in Toronto’s St. Clair West neighbourhood.
Another recent Toronto project is She Plays Inc. – an all-female, strings-dominant musical events company. Playing across the music spectrum, She Plays is in demand for classical repertoires at refined and formal occasions (weddings, ceremonies) – as well as for killer electric sets of recent hot hits for less formal special events. Demure in white, or excite and ignite as sirens in black – if you can dream it, She Plays it.
Launched in Chicago in 2009, Amber is the original founder of the electric cello duo formerly known as Me and Her Cellos. This dynamic project has attracted the attention of clients such as Rogers, BMO, Lamborghini, and Coca-Cola. Re-envisioned in 2019 as CELLA, this electric cello duo is designing new performances and finding new boundaries to cross.
