About
Violinist Ava Pacheco holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in violin from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Truman State University.
Her recent solo performances have included Antonio Vivaldi’s A Minor Concerto for Two Violins with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Arvo Pärt’s Fratres at The Stissing Center, and Antonio Vivaldi's Spring Concerto with the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Institute Young Artists.
In the fall of 2018, Ava was named a semi-finalist in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Competition, performing Karol Szymanowki’s Mythes, op. 30 and Benjamin Britten’s Suite for Violin & Piano, op. 6. While at Truman State University, Ava 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, Altius String Quartet, Stephen Rose, Alberto Bologni, and Veronique Mathieu. Ava is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the American String Teachers Association, the American Federation of Musicians, the Denver Musician’s Alliance, and is an alumna of Sigma Alpha Iota’s Epsilon Pi chapter.
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 a performance of Jessie Montgomery’s Strum and Claude Debussy’s String Quartet with fellow members of the Fort Collins Symphony, as well as a 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.
Sought out as an orchestral musician, Ava serves as the assistant concertmaster for the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra and associate principal second violin for the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra. She holds a core violin position with Boulder Chamber Orchestra. In addition to these permanent positions, Ava plays regularly with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Opera Colorado, and Colorado Music Festival for various concerts & productions. She previously served as principal second violin of the Boulder Symphony Orchestra and section violin with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra.
Her first recording project, Dialogues, was released in May 2020. It includes works for solo and duo violin as well as violin and piano by Lera Auerbach, Toru Takemitsu, and Karol Szymanowski alongside original artwork by Sarah Wilson. Additionally, her playing can be heard on Wild Beautiful Orchestra & BIS Records’ album “Sorabji: Vocal & Chamber Works” in Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji’s Il Tessuto d’Arabeschi (A Tapestry of Arabesques).
When she is not performing, Ava maintains a thriving private Suzuki violin & viola studio in south Boulder. She is a Suzuki-certified and trained teacher, and her students have attended the Colorado Suzuki Institute and Rocky Ridge Music Institute summer programs, in addition to being accepted into music degree programs at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Oregon. Beyond her private teaching, she has worked in chamber music clinics and orchestra sectionals with students from Fairview, Frederick, Erie, and Centaurus High Schools as well as Southern Hills Middle School. She currently serves as an outreach teacher for the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestras, working with string students at Westminster High School. In January 2019, she served as an alumni guest artist for Truman State University where she presented a recital of works for violin & piano, taught a masterclass for students in the violin & viola studio, and coached the Truman State University President’s String Quartet.
Her teachers include former & current Takacs Quartet second violinists Karoly Schranz & Harumi Rhodes, as well as Dr. Sam McClure, Julie Lundgren, and Kathy Karpicke.
Ava performs on a 2012 Kurt Widenhouse violin and a bow made by Pierre-Yves Fuchs. She currently resides in Boulder, Colorado with her husband, their daughter, and their three cats.
