Ahmad Aliff is a classically-trained musician who specialises in music directing and violin performance. Although trained as a violinist, his true passions are orchestral conducting and chamber music. He graduated with a first class honours in Bachelor of Music (Performance) from Universiti Teknologi Mara. Among his violin teachers were Woon Wen Kin, Mustafa Fuzer Nawi and Evgeny Kaplan. To date, he has undertaken violin masterclasses with David Kim, Orsolya Korscolan, Bernabas Klemen and Amaury Coeytaux. He has also participated in chamber music masterclasses by Abegg Trio, Berlin Baroque and Apple Hill String Quartet. In 2017, he attended a conducting master course by Maestro Vladimir Ponkin in Moscow, Russia.
Since young, Aliff has been captivated with classical music, notably in the symphonic genre. In his teenage years, he was active with Penang Symphony Orchestra. He gained valuable experience through his stint as a founding member of the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra from 2006 to 2011. Upon the completion of his performance degree, he was a regular guest musician for Orkestra Simfoni Kebangsaan and Orkestra Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. From 2013 to 2015, he worked as a full-time tutti violinist at Orkestra Radio Televisyen Malaysia.
Despite his classical music background, Aliff was frequently engaged in the popular music scene. Due to his versatility, he has fulfilled multiple roles on stage and in studios as session violinist, orchestrator, composer, record producer and music director. He has performed with local and international acts such as Richard Clayderman, Maher Zain, Opick, Black Dog Bone, Wings and Search. He has worked with producers such as Rudi Muhammad and KRU. To date, he has directed independent music events and red-carpet productions that involved superstars such as Siti Nurhaliza, Anuar Zain, Misha Omar and Jaclyn Victor.
He is keen about promoting classical music to the public. He established Orkestra Cerita Muzik in 2016 as a musicians’ melting pot to play good music with high standards. He has also coached the school orchestras of Chong Hwa Independent High School Kuala Lumpur and SMK (P) Sri Aman. Together with his wife, Rini, they have organised numerous music events frequently out of their own pockets to educate and propagate the beauty of classical music to the public.
Aliff currently resides in Kuala Lumpur. He provides bespoke music services such as music lessons, event planning, orchestra directing, composition, and orchestration.