Vera Wilson was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After her marriage she lived in Australia and England, and arrived in the United States in 1968, devoting the first twelve years to raising three children. Passionate about classical music and young musicians, over the course of her career Mrs. Wilson was Foreign Press Translator for The Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh and Boston symphonies and the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, and held various positions at the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Curtis Institute of Music among others.

From 1983 to 1991 Vera Wilson served as Executive Director of the Astral Foundation, which provided individual grants for exceptionally gifted young musicians and dancers and became a Trustee on its Board of Directors. It was during this period that she recognized emerging musicians’ need for direction as they prepared to launch their professional careers. Mrs. Wilson is the Founder of Astral Artists which opened its doors in 1992. The careers of many of today’s celebrated musicians such as guitarist Jason Vieaux, cellist Clancy Newman, violinists Soovin Kim, Kristin Lee and Benjamin Beilman, flutist Jasmine Choi, pianists Simone Dinnerstein, Natalie Zhu and Henry Kramer, clarinetists Igor Begelman and José Franch Ballester, harpist Bridget Kibbey, bass Eric J. Owens and soprano Angela Meade, accordionist Lidia Kaminska, saxophonists Doug O'Connor and Jonathan Wintringham, string trio Time for Three and the Jasper and Rolston string quartets, had their start at Astral Artists.

Vera Wilson currently serves on the boards of The Presser Foundation, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival and the Bicentennial Committee of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia. She is on the recommendation boards for the Avery Fisher Artist Program Career Grants and the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia Career Grants. She is a member of the Cultural Cabinet of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. She has also served on the panel of adjudicators for the Philadelphia Orchestra Albert M. Greenfield Competition and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. Earlier board appointments were with The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Orchestra 2001 and Young Audiences of Greater Philadelphia.