Nana Vaughn

Nana 那奈 Gaskins Vaughn is a violist and violinist who has performed regularly with the Baltimore Symphony, Washington National Opera, and National Symphony Orchestras. She serves as assistant principal viola of the Reading Symphony, principal viola with Opera Italiana at the Lincoln Memorial, American Contemporary Classical Orchestra, and held the principal viola chair in the Richmond (IN) Symphony for fourteen seasons as well as a section viola position in the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

Nana has performed in the Kennedy Center Honors orchestra several times, accompanying artists such as Cynthia Erivo, Stevie Wonder, Yo-Yo Ma, Billy Porter, Paul Simon, and Denyce Graves for audiences including President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

Currently the Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Nana has taught viola as Adjunct Applied Faculty at George Mason University’s Dewberry Family School of Music, Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Sunderman Conservatory of Gettysburg College, and was Adjunct Professor, Supervisor, and Affiliate Artist at UMBC. Her pre-college private students have been accepted into top programs such as National Youth Orchestra 2, Interlochen, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Luzerne Music Center, and All Eastern Orchestra.

A graduate of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, she is the founder of Violin2Viola, a program helping violin players interested in learning viola, and Sakura Music Academy based in Ellicott City, Maryland.