Ashni Budge
Violin
Ashni Budge is a violinist from Southern California who began her musical studies at three years old. She is a recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Juliana Athayde and received her Bachelor of Music. While at Eastman, Ms. Budge has served as both concertmaster and principal second violin of the Eastman Philharmonia and was selected to perform in Eastman’s chamber music honors recital. Ms. Budge also focused on community outreach through the Student Alumni Ambassador program and Eastman-To-Go, which educates people in the greater Rochester community through chamber music. In addition to performing, Ms. Budge is passionate about teaching and has taught violin lessons to elementary school children in underserved communities as part of Rochester’s Strings for Success program. As a part of the University of Rochester’s Dual Degree Program with the Eastman School of Music, Ms. Budge also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with an added minor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. In 2022, Ms. Budge was awarded a lifetime membership to Psi Chi, the International Honors Society for Psychology. Prior to her studies at Eastman and the University of Rochester, Ms. Budge studied violin with Richard Schwabe and piano with Heewon Kwon at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, California. Later this year, Ms. Budge will be pursuing her Master of Music degree with Professor Paul Kantor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University on a full scholarship.