Ava Gehlen-Williams

Ava Gehlen-Williams is a private violin and viola teacher teaching in Seattle, WA and San Francisco, CA.

In addition to her private studio, Ava teaches music theory, chamber music, and private lessons at the San Francisco Community Music Center. Previously, she was a teaching artist at Yale University working with students attending New Haven public schools. Ava is an alumna of Yale University with degrees in Music and Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in violin performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Ava’s primary mentors include Dr. Sarah Pizzichemi, Kyung Yu, Jan Coleman, and Margaret Pressley.

Ava is particularly passionate about accessibility and curriculum development within classical music. She is a co-founder of Evergreen Music Press, LLC, which publishes a variety of materials with the aim of broadening the pedagogical canon for string education. More information about this can be found at evergreenmusicpress.com.

Ava has performed in a variety of summer festivals, recently including Valley of the Moon Music of the Moon Music Festival, Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival, Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, and Bowdoin International Music Festival. She is particularly passionate about Baroque violin and period performance practice.