Nana has led a rich and varied life in music. Starting out
as a violinist at the age of 10, she began her studies in the Carmel Junior High
orchestra program under Ronald Nobles. Her primary teachers have included local
teacher Corrinne Imboden, Professor Lawrence Shapiro of
Butler University,
Professor Paul Biss of Indiana University, Professor Atar Arad of Indiana
University, and Michael Isaac Strauss, principal violist with the
Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra. She received her bachelor's degree in Violin Performance
and a master's degree in Music Education from Indiana University, where she was
awarded a fee scholarship, and a position as an associate instructor. She
began her studies on the viola as a graduate student, and it quickly became her
instrument of choice.
Her first year of public school teaching took her to Arlington, Texas. While there, she also maintained a private violin and viola studio, served as assistant principal violist in the Plano Chamber Orchestra, and won positions with the Garland Symphony Orchestra, the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, and the Richardson Symphony Orchestra. Other musical experiences have included playing in concert with Aretha Franklin, the Moody Blues, and the National Symphony Orchestra.
Upon returning to Indiana in 1996, she founded the Carrollton String Quartet with her husband, Michael Vaughn, her brother, Andre Gaskins, and lifelong friend, Chin Mi Kim. The quartet has quickly become a leading provider of classical entertainment for weddings and special events in Indiana, in addition to performing chamber music in recital. She also won a position as the orchestra director at Lawrence Central High School. During Nana’s tenure at Lawrence Central, the orchestra program grew in size and ability, winning 3rd and 4th in the State ISSMA Orchestra contest during the two years she taught there, and perfect scores at State Solo-Ensemble contest. She also pursued her passion of encouraging young students to become teachers of music: she founded a chapter of the American String Teachers Association at Lawrence Central HS, one of the only high school chapters of ASTA in the nation. Many of her former students chose to pursue careers in music, and are now public school teachers, young free-lance musicians, or teaching privately—among her former LCHS students are orchestra directors in Bedford, Indiana and Hamilton Southeastern Schools in Fishers, Indiana.
In addition to her public school experiences, she has been the Adjunct Violin Professor at Purdue University, has directed the Indianapolis Youth Orchestra, has been an adjudicator at ISSMA solo and orchestra events, and has been invited to be a clinician and coach at numerous school music programs in Indiana. Currently, she is in her 13th season with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, where she serves as principal viola. She will be a featured soloist with the RSO in spring 2003, performing the Telemann Viola Concerto. This year, she is also scheduled to perform in solo and chamber music recitals at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. She has soloed with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, plays frequently with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and is an occasional substitute musician with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Nana and her husband, Michael, have three children, ages 4, 2 ˝, and 1.
Watching them
grow and develop in their own unique and challenging ways has led her to her
current interest: understanding how individual students’ learning styles affect
the way students approach music learning. Her passion is teaching music,
playing music, and encouraging talented young people who choose to pursue a career in
music.
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