About Dawning
Violinist Dawning (Welliver) Vajdi is a versatile performer, researcher, and educator based in Indianapolis, Indiana. A graduate of the Jacobs School of Music, she completed her Masters in violin performance with Grigory Kalinovsky in 2022. Her undergraduate career took place at Vanderbilt University, where she studied with Cornelia Heard and pursued minors in International Leadership and Development and Arabic Language. Dawning’s professional path reflects her curiosity about the intersections of music, culture, and communication, and she involves herself in diverse projects that allow her to explore the arenas of multiple genres of music, musicology, and equitable music education.
An avid chamber musician, Dawning performs regularly with the Sileo Quartet, winners of the Grand Prix at the Małopolska International Music Competition in 2023. The group studied under the Pacifica Quartet at Indiana University and has performed across the United States and abroad. Sileo now operates as a flexible collective, coming together for projects that spark curiosity and artistic inspiration. Her grounding in chamber music informs her teaching, whether coaching student ensembles through the Chamber Music Connection in Columbus, Ohio, or designing chamber music curriculum at The Wellington School. She currently teaches privately in Indianapolis, offering individualized instruction for students of all ages.
As a soloist, Dawning has spent over a decade researching and performing the music of Blair Fairchild, a largely forgotten composer. She is currently co-authoring the first comprehensive biography of Fairchild and preparing an album of his previously unrecorded violin works. Inspired by this work, she frequently performs pieces by rarely performed, forgotten, or underrepresented composers.
Alongside her work in historical repertoire, Dawning enjoys blending and bending genres in the recording studio, pop-up performances, and intimate, informal venues. Her creative range as a performer has led her to record not only in the Western classical tradition, but also in genres including alternative rock and rap—bridging musical worlds with a spirit of curiosity, and reimagining the violin as a voice that can speak across diverse and evolving artistic landscapes.
Beyond performing and teaching, Dawning is committed to community-building through music. She co-founded the Empowered Creatives Project with a fellow member of Sileo Quartet, an initiative dedicated to unleashing creative potential and fostering connections across diverse communities. Within the organization, Dawning focuses on sharing the transformative vision with new collaborators, extending the reach and influence of this vibrant initiative which channels the power of music for individual and societal change. Dawning believes in the transformative power of music as a vital means of individual and societal change.
Dawning lives with her husband, Aarya, and their son, Cyrus. As a family, they devote themselves to community life, drawing inspiration from the Bahá’í Faith and its evolving framework for action. In their neighborhood and beyond, they strive to build capacity for service, cultivate spaces for collective learning, and nurture communities rooted in spiritual purpose. Weaving together the rhythms of family, an unfolding musical journey, and a life of service, Dawning feels tremendous gratitude to be living a life fulfilling her dreams and sense of purpose.
