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 core violin for Boulder Chamber Orchestra, assistant concertmaster of the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, assistant principal second violin of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal second violin of Boulder Symphony Orchestra. In addition to these roles, Ava also regularly plays with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera Colorado Orchestra, and Colorado Ballet 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. Ava has recently appeared as a soloist with Boulder Chamber Orchestra on Vivaldi’s Concerto in A minor for 2 violins as well as Vivaldi’s Concerto in B minor for 4 violins.

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 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.

In her free time, Ava enjoys making ceramics, baking bread, and spending time with her husband & their three cats.