Ashley Dickson considers herself as a native of the Great Pacific North-West. Starting piano at 7, she soon began to excel under the instruction of Valerie McCormic. She then continued piano with Colleen Adent and Johanna Hodges, going on to perform recitals twice a year and earn her certifications in the 10 Piece Guild, and The Royal Conservatory. Once she had taken piano for 2 years she then undertook violin and she and her brothers formed a string quartet. The quartet performed at many events in the community some of them include: The Portland Royal Rosarians, The Portland Children’s Cancer Association, The Veterans Hospitals, The Wilsonville City Hall Opening, The Clackamas County Music Appreciation Park Festival, to name a few. The Dickson String Quartet slowly started building a name for themselves. Due to the interest of the Arianna String Quartet, Ashley and her brothers received scholarships to attend the University of Missouri St. Louis. Studying with David Gilham, Julia Sakharov, and John McGrosso, Ashley was the Concertmaster of the school orchestra towards the end of her Freshman year. The Dickson String Quartet became the face of UMSL performing for many events and masterclasses. The quartet was also featured for the school’s MLK annual performance, Masterclass with Andrew Dawes of the Cleveland Symphony, Fox 2 St. Louis,  and Tokyo String Quartet Masterclass. Completing her Violin Performance studies in 2013 as well as a Minor in Piano, Ashley went on to start her own piano and violin studio before moving back to Washington.

Back in Washington, she took over as the Orchestra Artistic Director and Conductor for the Portland Adventist String Academy where she enjoyed giving musical instruction and demonstrating to students and parents the joy of music. In addition to building her own private studio she also nanny’s part-time and enjoys spending time with her family and her newly wedded husband.