Ashley Vandiver joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Fourth Chair Viola in 2018. Acclaimed by the Denver Post as “wonderfully expressive…polished and carefree”, the American-born violinist & violist has performed in over 30 countries on five continents.
Prior to joining the TSO, she was a violinist in the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Since 2014, Ms. Vandiver has enjoyed her summer months as a member of the violin section in The Santa Fe Opera Company Orchestra.
Ashley has performed regularly with the Saint-Paul Chamber Orchestra, Knights NYC, the orchestras of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, and theNational Ballet of Canada. Before immigrating to Canada in 2012, Ashley was a founding member and rotating Concertmaster of A Far Cry—a Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra. internationally recognized for its performances across the globe and seven albums.
Ms. Vandiver has performed at major chamber music and orchestral festivals across North America and Europe, including, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Yellow Barn, and the Verbier Festival Orchestra where she held the position of Principal Second Violin.
Ashley has served on the String Faculties of the University of Ottawa, Wellesley College (MA), and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Project STEP, a comprehensive training program for talented children from underrepresented Boston communities. Ms. Vandiver has also been an adjudicator for Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America.
A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music with Distinction in violin performance, she then went on to receive her Master of Music Degree from the Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands. Her principal teachers include Vera Beths, James Buswell, Kenneth Goldsmith, and Laura Bossert.