Violinist Dr. Emily Acri was born and raised in Winnetka, IL. Her collegiate studies spanned from 2011-2020 at Indiana University (BM ‘15), University of Michigan (MM ‘17) and University of Washington (DMA ‘20). After earning her doctorate, she worked for AmeriCorps as an ArtistYear Fellow (Colorado). There, she worked as music educator at Crystal River Elementary School and Aspen Music Festival and School’s Beginning Strings program. She was concertmaster of the High Country Sinfonia and co-founded the Sopris Quartet. Currently, Emily is based in Seattle, working as a violin and viola teacher and freelance performer. In addition to her private teaching, she coaches violinists in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra. She performs with ensembles including Puget Sound Strings, Symphony Tacoma, Federal Way Symphony, Sound Ensemble (Pacific Northwest), Juliani Ensemble (Chicago, IL) and MahlerFest (Boulder, CO). Emily attributes her musical inspiration to her late Grandfather, Robert Acri, a legendary Chicago pianist.