OUR SOLOISTS
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Ashleigh Gordon has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Hong Kong, ranging from chamber and orchestral music settings to off-Broadway and new music productions. She has worked and recorded with Germany's Ensemble Modern, Switzerland's Ensemble Proton, and the Grammy award winning BMOP; performed with Boston Landmark's Orchestra, Odyssey Opera, and A Far Cry; and has performed with Chineke! Orchestra, Europe's first majority Black/minority ethnic orchestra at the prestigious BBC Proms Festival. In recognition for her advocacy of cultural awareness, she has presented at IDEAS UMass Boston Conference and 180 Degrees Festival in Bulgaria; has been featured in the International Musician and Improper Bostonian magazines as well as the Boston Globe; and was awarded the 2016 Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award from the American Federation of Musicians. She is a 2015 St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award recipient, a 2019 Brother Thomas Fellow, a nominee for the 2020 "Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities,” and named one of WBUR’s “ARTery 25”, twenty-five millennials of color impacting Boston’s arts and culture scene. www.violashe.com
Christina Dickson-Brownell began studying violin at the age of eight. She earned a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters degree from the University of Rhode Island in violin performance, where she studied with Ann Danis from 1999-2007. During her collegiate career, Christina was Concertmaster of the University of Rhode Island Symphony Orchestra, and was a member of the Undergraduate Honors String Quartet. Currently Christina is very active as a professional violinist and teacher. This season marks her 18th season as Concertmaster for the Fall River Symphony Orchestra. She is also Concertmaster of the Ocean State Pops Orchestra. Christina is the Principal Second for the Narragansett Bay Symphony Community Orchestra, as well as for the South County Chamber Orchestra. She is also a member of the first violin section for the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra, under the musical direction of Ann Danis. She is a founding member and the first violinist of the Col'Areo String Quartet. Christina also plays extensively with La Bella Musica, one of southern New England's premier chamber ensembles and is a member of their core quartet, who performs concerts throughout the New England area. She has taught violin and viola at the Moses Brown School in Providence, RI since 2010. Christina is very active as a freelance musician, performing throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Tessa Belkin has been playing violin for nearly twenty years and is about to receive her B.A. in Music from The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Tessa regularly performs in the Southeastern Massachusetts area. She currently plays with the Fall River Symphony Orchestra and has held the principal second violinist chair for the past three years. She is also the personnel manager for FRSO, where she executes several duties relating to the orchestra.
In addition to performing, she teaches and has maintained a studio of approximately 30 students ranging in both age and skill for over ten years.
In her spare time she enjoys knitting, running, and Harry Potter.
Alicia Winslow is a Fall River native and music educator. She currently serves as the middle school orchestra director and beginning string instructor in Westwood, MA. In addition to this role, she also serves as the accompanist for the middle school choruses.
Mrs. Winslow received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from the University of New Hampshire, both summa cum laude. Prior to her appointment in Westwood, Mrs. Winslow taught at the Classical Magnet School in Hartford, CT for many years.
In addition to her work in Westwood, Mrs. Winslow maintains a busy private studio teaching violin and viola to students of all ages. Mrs. Winslow is also an active freelance musician, performing in the southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island area. She resides in Tiverton, RI with her husband and two children.
Vi Taylor is in her tenth season with the Fall River Symphony Orchestra, having played previously with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and the Falmouth Chamber Players and chamber groups. She is a graduate of UConn and Lesley University with degrees in Music Education and Creative Arts in Learning, going on to teach for nearly thirty years in public and independent schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Still teaching cello privately, she especially enjoys watching her students’ progress to become confident players in school or community ensembles or just for their own pleasure. Sports also rank high on her list of interests: year-round tennis, pickle ball and whaleboat rowing in New Bedford Harbor.
