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Ashleigh Gordon '06, a Baldwin Wallace University viola performance grad and founder of Castle of Our Skins in Boston, was recently named the first-ever artist-in-residence with the Brattleboro Music Center after a nationwide search.
This is another tick in a box full of amazing achievements for Gordon, along with being featured in several magazines, playing with accomplished orchestras around the world and winning a variety of awards for her talents.
As the inaugural Brattleboro Music Center Artist-in-Residence, Gordon says it will be her job to "draw links between history, music-making, Black culture and storytelling with students, faculty and the Vermont community."
Over the next two years, Gordon will also "coach students, curate concert programs, lead lectures and facilitate workshops, all while exploring chamber music by African diasporic composers, connections between local history and modern times, and the interplay of music with other artistic disciplines."
Gordon credits the development of her passion for the viola to her time at BW. "Due to the small class size at BW, I was able to get a lot of attention and support to experiment, especially in leadership roles."
Gordon calls her choice to start playing the viola her "greatest experimentation while at BW." She ended up "falling in love" with the instrument, so much so that she began playing it professionally.
The choice would lead her down the musical career path she takes today, serving as artistic/executive director of Castle of Our Skins, a Boston-based concert and educational series devoted to celebrating Black artistry through music.
She is also part of the teaching artist faculty at the Longy School of Music of Bard College and a freelance violist who performs with the Grammy-winning Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and many others around the globe.
