Winner of numerous prizes including the Walter Naumburg International Competition,
Tibor Varga International Competition, Astral Artists National Auditions, Young
Performers Career Advancement, and Lili Boulanger awards, Ayano has performed with
orchestras across the U.S., Switzerland, Bulgaria, and most recently in Carnegie Hall.
Praised for her “deeply communicative and engrossing” (The New York Times)
performances, she has performed at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Moab, Bowdoin, Kingston,
Adams (New Zealand), Canberra International (Australia), and Prussia Cove (England)
festivals. She has been featured on Musicians from Marlboro tours in the U.S. and
France, and gave a TEDx talk at the University of Tokyo. She was first violinist of the
Ying Quartet and was Associate Professor at the Eastman School of Music until 2015
when she joined the violin faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music. As a
recipient of the Beebe Fellowship, Ayano studied in Budapest, Hungary, at the Liszt
Academy after graduating from Harvard University and The Juilliard School. In her
spare time, she loves to paint and practice Aikido.

Upcoming performances:

Aug 24 – New Music at Red Earth

Aug 25 – American Minimalism: A Retrospective

Aug 27 – Floating Concert

Announcing the Leslie Tomkins Endowment Fund 

To honor Leslie Tomkins as Moab Music Festival co-founder and celebrate over 32 years of her visionary artistic leadership, we are excited to announce the Leslie Tomkins Endowment Fund. We invite you to make a contribution today! By giving to this endowment, you’re helping enshrine for future generations the work near and dear to Leslie’s heart: connecting people intimately to the magic that is  music in concert with the landscape. CLICK HERE to give online. For more ways to give, visit our SUPPORT PAGE. 

About Leslie: Leslie was inspired by the red rocks of Moab to create the Moab Music Festival of which she is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director. Now in its 32nd year, the critically acclaimed chamber music festival is known for presenting music in concert with the landscape among the striking red rocks of southeastern Utah. Additionally, she is the Artistic Director of Summertrios (summertrios.org), an organization that offers chamber music coaching and performance opportunities to adult non-professional musicians of all levels. She is a member of the Dal Sogno chamber ensemble which is dedicated to sharing the works of under-recognized composers. Based in the Bronx, Leslie enjoys the richly diverse musical life that New York City offers, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, and playing chamber music and coaching student and professional chamber ensembles. Leslie is on the Advisory Committee of the Valley of the Moon Music Festival and mentors women in leadership roles of several non-profit arts organizations. She enjoys hiking with her poodle Lulu, gyrotonics, speed skating, bungee fitness, travelling and looking at art.