Emily Schaad
Violist Emily Schaad performs as an orchestral and chamber musician, conductor, and traditional fiddler. Based in Western New York, she is Director of Orchestras, Assistant Professor of Music, and music director of Hillman Opera at SUNY Fredonia School of Music.
Emily has held title positions with Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, and Asheville Lyric Opera, and performed with Greenville, Charlotte, Charleston, and Jupiter Symphonies. She has performed as a guest artist with Arden Trio and Eroica Trio and at the Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival. As a conductor, she has collaborated with such artists as Garrick Ohlsson, Midori, Jennifer Higdon, Valerie Coleman, and Vivian Fung. She is active as a guest conductor and has served as director for youth orchestras in Asheville, NC; Greenville, SC; and Poughkeepsie, NY. She is passionate about creating safe and inclusive spaces in orchestral learning environments and representing orchestral composers from historically marginalized groups.
Equally at home in traditional music settings, Emily has visited and collected music from musicians in Tennessee and North Carolina. She has performed and taught at such festivals as The Swannanoa Gathering, Ashokan Fiddle and Dance, Falling Waters Music Camp, Augusta Heritage Center, Pickathon, and Mountaingrass. She has toured the US, UK, and Australia, recorded two stringband albums, and performed as a fiddle soloist with Asheville Symphony Orchestra.
Emily studied viola with Karen Tuttle at Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, and holds an MA in Appalachian Studies and a DMA in Music Education.
