Official Bio
Emily is an educator, musician, composer, who holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of North Dakota and is currently pursuing a Masters of Film Scoring through Berklee School of Music. She is celebrating her 10th year in education and stays active as a performer in the Puget Sound region. Beyond her musical pursuits, Emily is also a visual artist and longarm quilter, adding a unique dimension to her creative expression.
Emily’s goal as a composer is to craft pieces that resonate with every student, providing them with a part they love playing. As an educator, Emily strives to cultivate a space where students experience the joy and exhilaration of achieving something challenging together. Her newly-published Midnight Zoomies has been accepted as an Editor’s Choice selection for JW Pepper. She currently lives in Tacoma, Washington with her partner, and cat, Fig, who was part inspiration for Midnight Zoomies.
Somewhat less official Bio…
Hi! I’m Emily and I am a composer, musician, and educator living in the Pacific Northwest. I being outside and near the water, playing video games, making delicious food with my boyfriend, and snuggling up with a book and my kitty Fig. I am also a visual and fiber artist in my spare time (which I don’t have much of at the moment). I enjoy sewing and painting and especially love quilting. I even have my own longarm sewing machine which takes up way more space in my house that in probably should.
I have been an educator in the Tacoma area for the past 10 years, starting out with elementary general music then diving headfirst into middle school band before becoming an instructional coach for the Arts Department of Bethel School District. My official title is “TOSA for the Arts and Curriculum Integration.” I’ve been doing this for the past 2 years and I still don’t know what that last part means…
What I do know is that I have the privilege of working with new educators and helping them find their feet in their own classrooms. I’m happy to share my understanding and perspective but mostly I’m there to listen (which I have lots of practice in from teaching band). And I get to learn a lot from the brilliant people around me.
This position has been such a gift because it gave me the opportunity and energy to start my performing again, fall in love with a new instrument (trombone) and begin writing my own music. I will be forever grateful for this experience, especially when I return to my own classroom with renewed passion and enthusiasm.
Composing kind of came out of the blue for me. I’d arranged a few things in the past for my students but for some reason I believed that composing just wasn’t for me. I don’t know where I got that idea but I’m so glad I was wrong. The past year has been such a wild ride: from discovering that I enjoyed writing my own music and fussing about every individual note and articulation, to learning that people might actually enjoy what I wrote and want to play it with their students. I’m looking forward to see where this adventure takes me next!
Oh, also I enjoy collecting and organizing rocks. There is something so joyful about coaxing out beauty from chaos. When you glance at a beach it’s hard to see the individual colors in the rocks, it’s just a blur of different shades of grey. It’s only when you start to look closely and dig deeper that you discover the different shades and how each stone is unique and fascinating.
Maybe that’s why I like beginning band so much. From an outside observer it very much feels like chaos but getting to see how students grow and develop their own sound and love for their instrument is one of the best feelings in the world.
Wow if you’ve made it this far I’m impressed, or concerned you have nothing more interesting to do, hah! I kid! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the music!