Amy Cottingham began playing the piano and violin at age three. She sings, composes, arranges, transcribes, teaches and performs classical and jazz music. With a Bachelors degree in Piano Performance, she won numerous state and regional piano competitions and awards during her schooling years. She holds a Masters degree in Orchestral Conducting from Oklahoma State University, USA.
Amy was the pianist for the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra for 8 years, and the pianist for the Signature Symphony for 5 years, playing for Classics and Pops concerts. She performed regularly with Tulsa Camerata chamber music ensembles as well as the Tulsa Ballet orchestra. She presented regular solo and collaborative concerts for 15 years in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for organisations including the Brown Bag It series at the Performing Arts Center, the Music at the Mansion Series at the Historical Society, and the Bernsen Center concert series. She was invited regularly to perform alongside other artists in Performance Plus and Tulsa Fest, under the direction of Dr. Barry Epperley. Amy has also been featured at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame numerous times as a solo performer with her own show and as a guest on the Annual Keyboard Concert.
Amy has been teaching piano lessons for 26 years, and managed a full-time music studio out of her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma for 13 years, with many piano students placing in competitions and going on to study music at universities.
As an accompanist, Amy’s experience ranges from musicals, school choirs and adult choirs to junior and senior recitals, auditions and professional recitals.
In 2010, Amy created and organised the Monthly Musicales variety concert series, and continued the series for 7 years, facilitating a total of 75 concerts in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Musicales provided a stage for a variety of local musicians and artists, from professionals and university faculty to students and up-and-coming performers, featuring a wide range of musical styles. These concerts were in homes or public venues, and brought the musical community together in a unique, intimate, supportive atmosphere.
In 2017, at 36 years old, Amy left America, selling her home and giving away most of her possessions. She traveled through New Zealand and Australia for 3+ years. She has now settled in Warkworth, New Zealand where she is Music Director for the Kowhai Singers Choir. She has performed three full-length solo piano concerts at the Warkworth Town Hall on a 7ft Yamaha, two at the Blockhouse Bay Boat Club in Auckland on a 9ft Steinway, and two at the Leigh Sawmill Cafe on a 7ft Bechstein, as well as numerous house concert performances. Amy has produced 8 self-developed workshops on topics including music appreciation, vocal singing technique, reading music, and music theory principles. Amy and violinist Marika Balzat have performed together throughout Auckland and the Warkworth areas and are now organising an ongoing house concert series. In addition to the Kowhai Singers, Amy was the former Music Director for the Matakantata Choir and the Pohutukawa Singers. She has taught piano lessons steadily throughout the Auckland region, and currently teaches out of her home in Wellsford.
