Where leading edge teachers and artists help you forge a lifelong musical journey with your violin or viola. • Your commitment to lessons will challenge you through steep learning curves and several tough plateaus. But it also will reward you with the downhill thrills of exhilarating break-throughs and celebrations. • It takes effort and patience to become competent with your instrument, and even more time to become technically fluent and expressive on your own special instrument. • At the end of the year, you will measure your achievements as you look forward to refining your musical practice. • All of us at the String Connection are here to help you grow as a young musician as you discover your own musical gifts and unique learning style. I am honored to be your musical guide and mentor. —
Welcome to the String Connection Violin, Viola Studio
Ms. Ghoukasian has launched the first season of the newly formed Desert Roots Rising Stars Festival in June 2024, a dynamic and immersive celebration of the next generation of musical virtuosos.
Shakeh is an accomplished chamber musician and orchestral musician, as well as a distinguished teacher and adjudicator. For the last 14 years, she was the driving force behind the Nevada School of the Arts (NSA). As NSA’s executive and artistic director until 2020, she shaped the school’s vision and launched program initiatives and community partnerships that benefited both students and the Las Vegas community. She launched the school’s Jazz Initiative, modeled on the ground-breaking prototype at Lincoln Center, and the Musical Crossroads program, which showcases classical guest artists crossing over into Latin and Jazz genres, performing in schools throughout the Clark County School District. Her passion for film music evolved into Kids2Kids concerts, performed by students for students, and was widely embraced by school administrators and young audiences alike. Ms. Ghoukasian received her early music training at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Music School in Armenia, a country at that time “behind the Iron Curtain.” After immigrating to the United States in 1979, she received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She studied with such string notables as Lori Ulanova, Haik Balian, and John Kendall.
Since 1998, Shakeh has held the position of Principal 2nd Violinist of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and performs with the Philharmonic’s Principals Quartet, presenting educational outreach and chamber music concerts in the community. She also plays regularly in orchestras supporting ballet and opera performances, as well as in recording sessions with jazz and pop musicians. She has performed with a vast array of classical artists and celebrity entertainers, including Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson, and Itzhak Perlman, on and off the Strip. Her solo performances include appearances with the Henderson Symphony and Las Vegas Philharmonic.
Shakeh is an established master teacher and adjudicator. She has been invited to present master classes and workshops in Arizona, Utah, California, Idaho, South Dakota, Alaska, Oregon, New York, Washington, and the Las Vegas Summer Music Festival. She was a featured presenter at the American String Teachers National Conference and is a recipient of ASTA’s Studio Teacher Award in Nevada. She was the Founder and Program Director of the Green Valley Chamber Music Festival from 2006-2014.
Her students have garnered top awards at numerous local and national competitions and have been chosen to participate in prestigious summer music festivals and camps, such as the Interlochen Summer Music Camp, Indiana University Summer String Program, Tanglewood Summer Institute, and National Orchestra Summer Institute. Ms. Ghoukasian is dedicated and passionate about working with young musicians and guiding their musical and artistic development. Many of her violin students have graduated from universities and conservatories around the country. With her as a mentor, they have become accomplished professional musicians and, most importantly, beautiful human beings.
PRINCIPAL 2ND VIOLIN OF THE LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC, CONCERT ARTIST, MASTER TEACHER, PEDAGOGUE, FORMER EXECUTIVE AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE NEVADA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS (NSA), FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE STRING CONNECTION, VIRTUAL VIOLIN FESTIVAL, THE GREEN VALLEY CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL, AND THE DESERT ROOTS RISING STARS FESTIVAL.
