Musician Bio

Accomplished violinist, Ava Shedd, is dedicated to making lasting impacts through her music-making. At 11 years old, she made her orchestral debut performing as a soloist with the Bay Youth Concert Orchestra. During her undergraduate studies at CCM, she won the CCM Violin Concerto Competition in 2022 and 2024 performing works by Korngold and Rimsky-Korsakov. Some notable achievements include performing at Carnegie Hall with the CCM Philharmonia in 2024, winning First Prize in the 2025 Matinee Musicale Cincinnati Scholarship Competition and winning the 2025 Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition at the Brevard Music Center.

Her vast orchestral experience includes performances with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Prior to her appointment with the ISO, she held section violin positions in the Lexington Philharmonic and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra as well as the position of Assistant Principal 2nd violin with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. Ava is also on the sub list for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra and the New World Symphony.

A dedicated educator, Ava has 8+ years of experience teaching private violin and piano students and most recently worked with Cincinnati Strings. She presently teaches at the Stafford Music Academy and is Suzuki certified in violin books 1-3. She has participated in numerous summer festivals such as the Meadowmount School of Music, Brevard Music Center, Pacific Music Festival, Heifetz International Music Institute, Festival del Lago, Miami Beach Classical Music Festival, Ascent International Chamber Music Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival.

Ava earned her B.M. in Violin Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2025 studying under Dr. Won-Bin Yim and most recently was pursuing her M.M. degree under Prof. Grigory Kalinovsky at the Jacobs School of Music.

Outside of music, Ava enjoys spending time with her 7 siblings, trying new coffee shops, thrifting, and reading.