Ava Pacheco
Assistant Concertmaster
A native of Houston, Texas, Ava Pacheco holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Truman State University. She serves as the assistant concertmaster of the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, assistant principal second violin of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal second violin of the Boulder Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her role as core violin for Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Ava regularly plays with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2018, she was named a semi-finalist in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Competition. While at Truman State University, she was a two-time Gold Medal Competition finalist on concerti by Kabalevsky and Shostakovich. She has performed in masterclasses for artists such as Anne Akiko Meyers, Stephen Rose, Alberto Bologni, and Veronique Mathieu. In 2019 Ava served as an alumni guest artist for Truman State University’s Department of Music. Her first recording project, Dialogues, was released in May 2020 and includes works for solo & duo violin as well as violin and piano by Lera Auerbach, Toru Takemitsu, and Karol Szymanowski alongside original artwork by Sarah Wilson.
As a chamber musician, Ava has been involved in quartet and chamber orchestra performances both in the United States and Italy, including performances alongside members of the Volta Piano Trio and Avalon String Quartet. Recent chamber music performances include the presentation of Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for String Quartet and Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht alongside poetry and original visuals. In 2022, Ava served as a fellow for the Next Festival of Emerging Artists where she premiered 9 new works by living composers at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn and Gibney Dance in Manhattan, as well as performing Jessica Meyers’ Tapped Into the Same Vein at The Stissing Center.
Her teachers include former & current Takacs Quartet second violinists Karoly Schranz & Harumi Rhodes, as well as Sam McClure, Julie Lundgren, and Kathy Karpicke.
Ava performs on a violin made in 2012 by Kurt Widenhouse and a bow made by Pierre-Yves Fuchs.
Get to know Ava
Where are you from?
I am originally from Houston, Texas
How did you first get started playing?
As a kid I loved the movie Fantasia and apparently was asking my parents for a violin from a very young age. After a short stint learning piano with my grandma, I joined the Suzuki violin program through my elementary school at age 6 and have been playing ever since.
What’s your favorite thing about playing your instrument?
I love getting to tell stories with the music written for violin and share all the tone colors it can create. There is always something new and interesting to do and I love that my career keeps me on my toes each week.
What do you like to do outside of music?
I enjoy creating ceramics and keeping up on recent movies with my husband.
Why is music important to you?
The musical collaboration with others and the feeling of being part of a group working together to make individual parts into a whole is so special to me. Making music is all I have ever known and I can’t imagine my life without it!