Emily Cook, a native of rural western Illinois, is a dynamic performer and educator based in Pittsburgh, PA and Bloomington, IN. She currently serves as principal clarinetist of the Evansville Philharmonic and the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, bass clarinetist with the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, and third clarinetist of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra; formerly, she held positions with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond (VA) Symphony Orchestra. In recent seasons, she has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, Sinfonia da Camera, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, and Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. Emily is dedicated to performing new music, serving as the clarinetist and artistic director of Kamratōn, which has premiered over 45 works for chamber ensemble since its founding in 2015, including three of her own. Emily has also appeared with jazz/fusion group the Afro-Yaqui Music Collective and is active in Pittsburgh’s free improvisation community.
Emily received an artist diploma and a master’s degree from Duquesne University, where she studied with Ron Samuels of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and served as a graduate assistant in the music history and theory departments. Previously, Emily studied with David Bell at Lawrence University, graduating with degrees in K-12 music education and clarinet performance. Her other teachers include Jack Howell, Larry McDonald, Eric Ginsberg, and Louis Margaglione. She has presented research blending music theory and performance studies on the work of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho at the CUNY Graduate Center and at SUNY Buffalo.
Emily currently serves as adjunct instructor of clarinet at Chatham University after serving as interim professor of clarinet at Millikin University in Decatur, IL and as middle-school band director at St. Vincent de Paul School in Bedford, IN. When she’s not playing, she enjoys hiking and gardening and spending time with her husband, bassist Jeffrey Turner, and two wonderful stepdaughters.