Native of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Shakhida Azimkhodjaeva - Ambartsumian graduated from Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. She gave her debut with the Uzbekistan Symphony Orchestra when she was eleven and won the National Violin Competition in 1985. From 1985 to 1990, she performed with Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Symphony Orchestra under direction of such conductors as Zubin Metha, Pierre Boulez, Dmitry Kitaenko, Valery Gergiev, and many others. As a soloist and chamber musician, she performed in all the major cities of the former Soviet Union in the most prestigious halls such as Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and St. Petersburg Philharmonic concert halls. Ms. Ambartsumian was one of the founders of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra "ARCO". Since 1989, she has been concertmaster, and soloist with the orchestra and has performed extensively in Europe, South Korea, USA, Canada, and Brazil. Azimkhodjaeva joined the violin faculty of the University of Georgia School of Music in 1995. Her recent performances include numerous appearances at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.