Ames Asbell

Violist Ames Asbell has performed classical, tango, and popular music in nearly 40 countries across the globe, appearing in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall and major universities to intimate club settings. Her work can be heard on dozens of internationally released recordings, film scores, and broadcasts, including the Dixie Chicks’ Grammy Award-winning Home, Richard Linklater’s acclaimed film Waking Life (in which she also appears onscreen), and ten appearances on the PBS series Austin City Limits. From 2001 to 2005, she toured internationally with David Byrne of Talking Heads, appearing on programs such as Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman, and BBC’s Later... with Jools Holland, and performing on two internationally released concert DVDs.

After earning the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Asbell established a vibrant career in Austin, where she serves as violist of the Tosca String Quartet, Principal Violist of the Austin Opera Orchestra, and a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. She also performs regularly with the Victoria Bach Festival, Conspirare, and Arizona Musicfest, and is a sought-after chamber musician throughout the region.

Her versatile career has included performances with artists spanning a wide range of musical styles, including Andrea Bocelli, Stevie Wonder, Bernadette Peters, John Cale, Gilberto Gil, Harry Connick Jr, Rufus Wainwright and Queens of the Stone Age. She has also performed extensively as a tango musician in Argentina, including an appearance at the Fifth World Tango Summit in Rosario with the Tosca Tango Orchestra, performing the nuevo tango chamber works of Glover Gill.

Dr. Asbell’s orchestral experience includes performances with the San Antonio Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and numerous regional orchestras throughout Texas and the Southeastern United State. She is also an active performer of historical music, appearing with Philharmonie Austin and with La Follia Austin Baroque. Her recording credits include releases on Nonesuch, Harmonia Mundi, Naxos, Sony Classical, and Merge Records, as well as many independent labels.

A dedicated educator, Dr. Asbell has twice taught the Texas All-State Orchestra’s top-ranked high school violist. Her former students have gone on to study at leading conservatories and schools of music, including Eastman, Rice, Oberlin, Peabody, and more. In 2010, she founded the Texas State String Project, a Suzuki-based community outreach program that provides string instruction to elementary school students in the San Marcos area. In 2026 she completed a three-year term as President of the American Viola Society. She is currently Vice-President of the International Viola Society and serves on the board of TexASTA, the Texas Chapter of the American String Teachers Association.