Sandino Strings

Violinist Ayisha de Sandino graduated with a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Violin Performance from Arizona State University. She received a Masters of Music from the University of New Mexico with a double concentration in Violin Performance and String Pedagogy, during which time she was a recipient of the prestigious Abraham Franck String Quartet Assistantship. In addition, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance.
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As a pedagogue, Dr. de Sandino holds long term training in all 10 Suzuki books as well as Suzuki Philosophy. She has also received teacher training enrichment courses from William and Doris Preucil and Susan Kempter.

Dr. de Sandino has taught private violin lessons for over seventeen years. Her students have performed in Carnage Hall, as well as in festivals across the United States and Europe. Dr. de Sandino’s students have also had a 100% acceptance rate into music schools as both performance and music education majors. Notably, Dr. de Sandino has taught violin and other music classes at Desert Garden Montessori, University of New Mexico Lab School, Música 100×35 y el Sistema de Orquestas y Coros Juveniles e Infantiles de Puerto Rico (El Sistema in Puerto Rico), and Kids and Musik. In addition, Dr. de Sandino has been a part of the music faculty in the Panama Jazz Festival, Fiðlufjör in Iceland, Sydney International String Summer School, and the Hummingbird Music Camp.
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As a performer, Dr. de Sandino has played in renowned music festivals throughout the world, such as, InterHarmony Music Festival in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany; Prague International Summer Academy, in Prague, Czech Republic; LyricaFest Chamber Music Festival in Chatham New Jersey; North Carolina Chamber Music Institute in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Festival de la Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de las Américas in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance: Music in the Valley in Mizra, Israel; Stamford International Music Festival in Stamford, England; Seminario de Master Class y Perfeccionamiento Técnico Avanzado de Violín de La Academia Latinoamericana de Violín y la Fundación Simón Bolívar in Mérida, Venezuela; The Panama Jazz Festival in Panama City, Panama; Festival Internacional de Música Centro Universitario Adventista de Sao Paulo, in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Festival Internacional de Música em Maranguape, in Maranguape, Brasil; Festival Internacional Música na Serra in Lages, Brasil; and Festival Internacional Música no Pampa, in Bagé, Brasil.

In addition to performances in music festivals, Dr. de Sandino has presented solo recitals throughout the Caribbean and the United States. She has soloed with orchestras such as the Rockbridge Symphony Orchestra, and the Gallup Chamber Orchestra as well. Dr. de Sandino also has a passion for performing chamber music and regularly seeks out opportunities to perform in chamber settings both nationally and internationally.

As an orchestral musician she has held leadership positions the University of New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Arizona State University Orchestra, the Puerto Rico Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, the Eastern Youth Orchestra, and the Southern Virginia University Orchestra. She has also played on numerous occasions with the Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra Arturo Somohano and the University Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra.

Currently, Dr. de Sandino works as an active performer and pedagogue both locally as well as internationally. In addition to her active private studio, she teaches at both the college and preparatory level at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina.