Gina Marie Gravagne is a twenty-year-old up-and-coming violist from Waco, Texas, known for her dynamic orchestral section leadership. Born with a limb difference known as symbrachydactyly affecting her right hand, she began playing viola at age three under Dr. Julia Hardie, defying expectations. Currently, Gina is a senior studying viola performance at Baylor University under major teachers Kathryn Steely and DJ Cheek. Her interests include solo performance, chamber music, and bluegrass fiddle, but especially jazz and orchestral playing. She loves jamming with her friends in the Baylor Jazz String Quartet, revitalized in 2022 after over a decade-long break.

In 2020 and 2021, Gina won orchestral positions in both of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra ensembles, rotating as co-principal in 2021. She currently serves as principal viola in the Baylor Symphony Orchestra. Recently, she enjoyed playing principal for the Baylor Symphony Orchestra’s debut at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. In August 2023, she won a tenured position in the Waco Symphony Orchestra . Additionally, in May 2024 Gina won a section viola contract with the Abilene Philharmonic. Her summer studies include an eight-week fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and School, playing orchestrally and studying under Jeffrey Irvine and Victoria Chiang.

As a soloist, Gina made her debut at age thirteen with the New Mexico Philharmonic. Gina won the Baylor University Concerto Competition in 2023 and performed with the Baylor Symphony Orchestra in March 2024. In July 2023, she won the Eastern Music Festival Concerto Competition and performed with the Eastern Symphony Orchestra while participating in EMF’s String Leadership Certification Program. Aside from orchestral appearances, Gina was a finalist in the American Viola Society's 2022 Senior Solo Competition and was invited to the live rounds for the 2024 Orchestral Excerpts Competition in June. She also won the Baylor School of Music’s Semper Pro Musica solo competition, making her debut performance in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in May with collaborative pianist Byunghee Yoo. This past spring, Gina received the prestigious Dean’s Outstanding Performance Award for her solo playing from Dean Gary Mortenson. In addition to playing viola, Gina is an Honors student working on new solo transcriptions and thesis research under Dr. Steely's tutelage as well as the mentorship of violinist Dr. Eka Gogichashvili.