School of Music Visiting Artist Series - Performance Forum
Ashley Walters has been praised for her "imposing talents" (Sequenza 21) and "impressive" (Pitchfork) and "beautiful playing" (All About Jazz). Ashley maintains a uniquely diverse career specializing in the performance of microtonal works and repertoire with extended techniques, alternate tunings, and improvisation.
As a solo artist, Ashley has been the dedicatee of numerous works by composers such as Nicholas Deyoe, Andrew McIntosh, Lewis Nielson, Daniel Rothman, Wadada Leo Smith, and Andrew Tholl. In May of 2016, Ashley premiered a cello concerto by long-time collaborator Nicholas Deyoe and will record the piece in 2017. Following the premiere performance, Paul Muller of Sequenza 21 wrote, “the swirling texture and often agitated phrasing was accurately and confidently played, a showcase for the virtuosity that Ms. Walters dependably brings to all her performances.” This season, she will perform Liza Lim’s Invisibility at Disney Hall as well as solo recitals in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. A frequent collaborator with legendary trumpeter, improviser, and composer Wadada Leo Smith, Ashley joined his Golden Quintet in 2016 and recorded his America's National Parks the same year. She received her MFA degree from CalArts in 2007.