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MEET
AURELIA SKYE
ABOUT ME
My multicultural background and travel opportunities have opened my eyes to the diversity of our planet. They shaped my passion for exploration and scientific discovery as a means of preservation and positive change. With a background in Physics, Mathematics, and Data Science, I am now studying Integrative Biology and Economics at Harvard with a focus on understanding the interdependency of different ecosystem in nature, but also the flow of capital and economic cycles. I am interested in how to develop conservation efforts that are economically viable and inclusive of indigenous communities.
For the most part educated in Germany, I completed my school degree in the UK to experience a more challenging environment and pursue my academic and musical goals. I achieved 45/45 points in the International Baccalaureate and am currently working towards my goal of becoming a scientist, researcher and explorer. I have work experience in hospitality and administrative office work and can speak five languages. To improve my Korean and explore my cultural roots I moved to South Korea for six months in 2022-23.
As a rock climber, I do not shy away from challenge and adventure.
Photography and storytelling are important to me as a means of documenting and communicating exploration and research. I have developed my skills through programs and experiences such as an excursion to Suriname, documenting the biodiversity, indigenous culture, and destruction of the rainforest. Take a look at my pictures and discover the stories behind them.
SKILLS
OUTDOOR EDUCATION
Climbing: Lead, trad, outdoor and indoor bouldering
Competitions: TCA SouthWest Championship, Bouldercups
Kayaking: Wildwater
SURINAME
“Do you see us as humans or animals living in the rainforest?”
I can hear the resentment that stems from centuries of colonial exploitation and the suffering that the indigenous Tiriyó people of Suriname faced at the hands of white men. The Chieftess’ eyes are fierce and proud as she warns us against making empty promises and acting against the interest of the indigenous community. We are deep in the tropical rainforest, in Kwamalasutu - the largest Tiriyó village and home of the Paramount Chief called the “Granman” - and the river is whispering in the distance. The sounds of playing children and village life blend with the calls of macaws and monkeys from the wilderness around us. My camera lies across my lap and feels like it is sinking through the flesh and against the bone of my leg...
PATAGONIA
Southern Chile and Argentina
Aysén - San Rafael - Cerro Castillo - Patagonia National Park - Fjords - Torres del Paine - Fitz Roy - Perito Moreno Glacier - Tierra del Fuego - Darwin's Rhea - Guanaco - Magellanic Penguins - King Penguins - Big Hairy Armadillo - Southern Crested Caracara - Black Faced Ibis
MOROCCO
“Une rencontre vaut mieux que mille rendez-vous”
- A chance encounter is better than a million meetings. Younnes smiles and looks over the rim of his fake Raybans. They slide an inch down his nose, which reminds me of a perfectly straight road that suddenly takes a sharp turn. I smile back. My nose is still itching from the smoke of Camel cigarettes and black coffee, and the intensity of the encounter with Hassan has left my head buzzing. I have travelled to the Sahara and back in the last seven days to photograph the Secrets of Morocco and these last three hours feel like the last little secret I get to bundle up and take with me...
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
Huddled behind a collection of boulders to evade the slicing coastal wind of the Scottish Highlands,
we stuffed our faces with oat cakes and smoked mackerel and waited for the perfect sunset that wouldn’t come.
The curtain of clouds reminded me of the smoky mist that had enveloped us just days before as we trudged over muddy ground in an effort to photograph highland cattle on the Isle of Skye. In every direction, anything beyond a couple of hundred metres was steeped in white eeriness that turned a simple farm house with cows into
Highland Cattle in Misty Mountains…
NATIONAL PARKS
Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Yosemite
"Stop the van! Stop the van!" My hands are shaking with excitement, my eyes twice their normal size. One hand grips my camera's zoom lens and my fingertips turn white under its weight. The other shoves open the passenger seat door and my hiking boots make gravel scatter as they hit the ground. Running all the way back to where I think I saw a pair of ears, handsome wolves and sly coyotes flash in black and white and beige in my mind. I skid to a halt, and a couple of seconds after I lift the camera to squint through its looking glass, I realise that my heart is pounding with both excitement and fear. I have just shot my first bear cub and, though not in the frame, mama bear cannot be far away…
COMPETITIONS AND PERFORMANCES
Piano since 2009
2021 Robert Saxon Recital Competition
Piano Solo
"Jugend Musiziert“ North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
2020 1. Prize (High Score) - Piano Solo
2017 1. Prize - Piano Solo
2015 1. Prize (Highest Score) - Piano Duo
2014 1. Prize (Highest Score) - Piano Solo
2012 1. Prize (Highest Score) - Piano Duo
2011 2. Prize - Piano Solo
"Musizierende Jugend“ Hennef
2014 1. Prize (Highest Score) - Piano Duo
"Westfälischer van Bremen Piano Competition“
2012 Piano Solo
Cello since 2013
2021 Piano Concerto
Beethoven emperor concerto no.5 mvt 2:
adagio un poco mosso
at Bryanston
2021 Horn and piano duo:
Reinhold Gliere 11 Pieces, Op. 35 No. 6
Romance
2020 Cello competition at Bryanston School
2020 Masterclass with pianist Adam Swayne
2019 - 2020 Junior Guildhall, London
(Guildhall School of Music and Drama)
Specialist pre-conservatoire training for the
Guildhall Young Artists division (GYA)
2019 - 2021 Orchestra and String Ensembles
at Bryanston School
2011-2017
2017 „Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard“
(The Juilliard School of New York) -
Collège du Léman Geneva (Switzerland) -
Solo, Duo and Choir Performance
2016 Lead Pianist at a public performance of
Mozart's Piano Concerto 4, KV 41 in G Major,
with the school orchestra
2013, 2014 & 2015 „Bühne frei Beethoven“
in Bonn (Piano Solo and Duo Performances)
including works of Beethoven and Debussy
2011 Composition Workshop with
Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Tamara Stefanovich:
Piano-Festival Ruhr in Essen (Discovery
Project 2 György Kurtág, 85th Birthday,
“a Homage in three parts“