Teacher Profile: Ashley Santore

About Ashley Santore

Ashley Santore is a Violist and Private Strings Teacher in the DMV area. She is passionate about sharing her love for music with students of all ages and believes learning to play an instrument is one of the best ways to foster a lifelong appreciation for the arts.

Ashley is originally from California where she began playing Viola at age eight in her elementary school orchestra. She went on to attend the Orange County School of the Arts, through which had the opportunity to tour internationally as a member of the OCSA Symphony Orchestra, performing concerts in England, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

In 2023, Ashley earned a Master of Music degree Viola Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder where she studied with Professor Erika Eckert. As a part of this degree, she published her graduate thesis titled ‘String Quartet Études: A Literature Review and Six New Compositions.’ Prior to her graduate studies, Ashley earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance with a Minor in History from Texas Christian University, graduating with honors in 2019.

A proponent of modern music, Ashley has commissioned and premiered multiple works for viola including Suite for Viola and Piano by composer Frederick Johnson and Sonata for Viola and Piano by composer Alex Roode. Additionally, she is a member of the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, which performs tango music concerts at venues across the DMV including the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, and Strathmore Hall.

When she is not playing or teaching music, Ashley enjoys knitting, reading, and going on hikes.