Amy Scurria was born into a military family and showed an early interest in music, memorizing the piano assignments of her sister Jackie. At age 11 she took lessons under the
Suzuki method and began composing. Scurria graduated from
Rice University in
Houston,
Texas, in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in composition. In 1998, she received a master's degree in composition from
Johns Hopkins University. She completed her doctoral degree in 2015 from
Duke University in
Durham. Dr. Scurria has also studied at La Schola Cantorum in
Paris,
France. Teachers she studied with include:
Chen Yi, Robert Sirota,
Narcis Bonet,
Anthony Kelley, and
Stephen Jaffe. Her compositions have been performed in the United States, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, France, and Japan. She was a composer-in-residence at Shepherd College in
Shepherdstown,
West Virginia, in 2001. ==Personal life==