Aurika Checinska Hays, born in Poland, came to the US when she was two years old.  She began her violin studies with Hanna Lachert-Segal, and continued at Manhattan School of Music where she studied with the late Carroll Glenn and then with Albert Markov.  Winner of various local and tri-state competitions and concertmaster of several youth orchestras, she annually participated in music festivals such as the Downeast Chamber Music Center and the International Music Festival in Lancut, Poland.   After graduating from Stuyvesant High School, NY, she spent six months studying with Michal Grabarczyk in Poznan. 

 Aurika’s early passion for music was equaled by her dedication to the sciences.  A finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, her project in the field of violin acoustics led her to design her own Bachelor of Science degree in Audio and Acoustical Engineering at Stanford University.  At the University of Miami, she was the first woman to earn a Master of Science in Music Engineering Technology in 1995. Her master¹s thesis was titled “Pitch Recognition and Intonation Error Quantification of Discrete Violin Tones”. Her expertise naturally led to a position at RealNetworks, where she was an Audio Quality Specialist, an Audio Software Developer, and a Program Manager in the Tools and Authoring Products Group.  An ongoing member of the Audio Engineering Society, she co-chaired the 1^st International Conference on Internet Audio in Seattle, WA.  Aurika is currently at home raising her two children and, thanks to her friend Marzena Szlaga, has recently rediscovered her neglected violin, which has been collecting dust for the past 15 years.