Amelia Caruk is a current third-year Horn Performance major, hailing from West Hartford, CT. Prior to joining the Eastman horn studio, Amelia studied privately with Barbara Hill, Jamie Marci, and her father, Roger Caruk. She previously was principal horn in both the Connecticut Youth Symphony and the Greater Hartford Wind Ensemble. She has played principal horn in both the CT All-State Honors Concert Band, and the CT All-State Honors Orchestra, as well as having been accepted into the NAfME All-National Honors Concert Band in 2020.  Amelia is an avid freelancer in her home state since her junior year of high school, having performed as a sub for both the UCONN Symphony Orchestra and the Hartt Orchestra in her senior year of high school. She has subbed with the Wallingford Pops, Connecticut Virtuosi, and Nutmeg Symphony, along with numerous chamber and pit orchestra freelance groups in the Southern New England area. Amelia was awarded the Nutmeg Symphony Young Artist Competition first prize two years in a row (2021-2022), and was featured as the soloist for the Nutmeg Symphony in May 2024, performing Marceau de Concert by Saint-Saens. In her free time, Amelia enjoys running, rock climbing, reading, writing short stories, crocheting, and arranging music for horn ensembles.