Vaughan Octavia
Violinist
Vaughan Octavia started playing violin at the age of 3, after her father built her a makeshift violin out of cardboard and tape. Born in New York City, her family relocated to Berlin, Germany where she lived for the next thirteen years. There she studied with instructors from the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Iceland Symphony
Orchestra while playing violin in the school orchestra, percussion in the band, and singing in the chorus. Just three years after returning to New York, Vaughan debuted as a soloist at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, performing alongside her sister in the Bach Concerto for Two Violins. Vaughan frequently performs for private
events, and has performed at various venues ranging from the German Consulate to the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage. She can be heard featured as a violinist with numerous independent artists, and has recorded strings for D.C. based artists including Muhsinah, Ab Abernathy & The Nat Turner Band, Diggs Duke, and Columbia Nights – a band to which she is dubbed “the fifth Beatle”.
Vaughan is a former public school 6th grade music teacher, and transitioned from the classroom to start a career managing arts education programs. At Carnegie Hall, she designed music experiences for court-involved youth before pursuing graduate studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received her M.Ed. in Arts
Education in 2016. Currently, Vaughan serves as Manager of Community Programs and Partnerships for Project Create, a non-profit that provides art therapy programs for children, teens and families experiencing
homelessness across the district.
