A highly experienced arts leader, creative producer, musicians and educator, Emily brings a wealth of valuable knowledge & skills to the arts, community and education sector. Having established herself within an international network of arts education leaders, Emily has a deep understanding of best-practice music education and community engagement models.

 

Leadership

Emily founded Connecting the Dots in Music in 2018, seeking to demonstrate a more connected way of working that prioritises true community engagement. With an aim to proving the significant possibilities that collaboration holds, Emily has conceived and delivered a growing portfolio of pioneering projects - each one addressing an identified need within the arts/health/community/education ecosystems. These initiatives have received international attention by organisations including Carnegie Hall, London Symphony Orchestra, Jeunesses Musicales International and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. By establishing Lullaby Project Australia, Emily formed an international partnership between Connecting the Dots in Music and Carnegie Hall. ​

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Global Connections

Selected to the Global Leaders Program in 2020, Emily seeks to achieve positive social impact through music and strengthening worldwide connections.

 

As a recipient of a 2019 Arts SA Development Grant and a 2014 NGS Scholarship holder, Emily has spent time with numerous arts organisations, government bodies and music leaders in the UK and US, including Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Voces8, London Symphony Orchestra, Wigmore Hall. She explored different examples of education partnerships, collaborative structures and collective leadership approaches, with a view to tailoring a unique platform for South Australia. In late 2019, Emily presented her research and concept to the SA Premier and Economic Advisory Panel.

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Creative Output

In recent years, Emily established two of Connecting the Dots in Music's most acclaimed projects: Music For All Project and the Arts SA Ruby Award-winning Lullaby Project Australia. As Director and Creative Producer, Emily formed partnerships with organisations including Carnegie Hall, Raising Literacy Australia and Australian Youth Orchestra, to bring these impactful projects to life. In consultation with acclaimed Eric Booth, Emily is now building a bespoke Teaching Artist Training Program for early career and professional musicians in SA and beyond. 

 

From 2013-2018, she led the Learning & Community Engagement Program for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, where she overhauled and redesigned the organisation’s education program. Her unique student mentorship and artist development initiatives, community partnerships, and cutting-edge creative projects have been broadly acknowledged.The Petrushka Project, directed by Paul Rissmann, was the first creative program of its kind by an Australian orchestra and a 2016 Ruby Awards finalist.

 

Committed to generating new works for young people, Emily has conceived and produced a number of noteworthy commissions for families and schools:

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• Most significant of her commissions is the orchestral production, What Do You Do With An Idea?, composed by Paul Rissmann. Based on the award-winning book by Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom, the work was premiered by ASO and Young Adelaide Voices in 2018, and has since been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican in London.

• Emily is now heading an international collaboration with Kobi Yamada (author), Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Compendium Inc (publisher) that will see the "Idea" transformed into a new community-focussed creative project. The work is due to be recorded by ASO and YAV in 2022 for international distribution.

• The Bush Concert, composed by Mark Simeon Ferguson for the ASO in 2015, has since been performed across Australia and China, including performances by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Youth Orchestra. 

 

Community Connections

Respected across the community, Emily has served on the board of Young Adelaide Voices and as a council member of the Australian Society for Music Education and Kodály SA. Emily was instrumental in establishing the SA Music Education Roundtable in 2015 and was an Artistic Vibrancy Peer of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in 2019. 

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As a music educator and conductor, Emily works as a Director of Strings and secondary Music Teacher. She has researched & developed a unique integrated approach to instrumental learning, involving a study trip to Helsinki in 2008, and the writing of a string teaching resource String Song.