BORN-AND-RAISED IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, emma is COMMITTED TO USING MUSIC TO BRIDGE CULTURAL & SOCIAL DIVIDES.
Emma appears right at-home in a multitude of collaborative settings – from traditional art song, to interdisciplinary performance work, to contemporary opera – and has collaborated with numerous cultural institutions both in New York City and abroad, including Palm Beach Opera, Opera on Tap, The Boston Art Song Society, City Lyric Opera, The Berlin Umculo Opera Incubator, and more.
Emma currently serves as Associate Music Director at The American Opera Project while maintaining an active performance schedule, and her teaching studio. Over the years, she has been privileged to work with some of the world’s greatest musicians in the field: from Elly Ameling and Helmet Deutsch, to Kobie van Rensburg and Yo-Yo Ma.
In 2017 she served as Community Engagement Coordinator of The Boston Art Song Society, and has participated in the prestigious Franz-Schubert Institut for art song in Vienna.
Her collaborative piano work extends into other artistic fields, such as dance, where she’s worked with the New York City Ballet, and dance-first workshops with Grammy award-winning conductor/soprano, Barbara Hannigan.
Emma's commitment to community engagement through music has led her to work alongside the international music organization El Sistema in Japan, and in 2016 she was certified by Musicians Without Borders through the School for International Training’s Graduate Institute’s Peacebuilding Program.
“Emma could sit in a tornado, and her focus would still be on creating the optimal line for a phrase with a singer, producing a clear and supportive harmonic line, breathing in the right places, and making music that has meaning.
She has a formidable technique, but her musicianship goes well beyond this. Emma is, from the tips of her toes to the ends of her curly hair, a musician with a social conscience... who brings an utter commitment and marvelous unfussiness to her work.”
— Shirley Apthorp || Director, UMCULO Opera Incubator
“I first met Emma in 2018, when I was doing a brief residency at Boston University… I thought: ‘Who is this wonderful pianist?? This wonderful young pianist, with such an assured technique and such mature artistry?’
And I was convinced: here is someone who will have a very bright future indeed.”
— Tom Cipullo || American Composer (Glory Denied)
