Emily grew up in tight-knit family community in Paducah, Kentucky and music was always at the center of every gathering second only, perhaps, to the delicious food that always accompanied such gatherings. Whether it was making up songs with her grandma on the front porch swing or singing old folk, bluegrass, and hymn tunes with guitar and harmony by ear with her mother, storytelling through singing was woven into the fabric of her life from the beginning.

Emily continues that legacy of storytelling through song in the varying styles of music that she has the opportunity to perform including art song, oratorio, chamber music, choral ensembles, early music, musical theatre and popular music. She has collaborated with orchestras and chamber ensembles in major works and concerts across the U.S. including the Savannah Philharmonic, the Louisville Orchestra, the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, the Jackson Symphony, American Bach Soloists, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Spire Chamber Ensemble, Madison Bach Musicians, and Bourbon Baroque. Some of Emily’s favorite major works she has performed include Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s B Minor Mass, Berstein’s Mass, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Fauré’s Requiem.

Choral music is a foundation of Emily’s passion for vocal music. From the moment she experienced three-part accapella singing as a 5th grader in Platteville Children’s Choir (WI), she was hooked. That initial love was cultivated under her high school choir director, Art DeWeese, at Paducah Tilghman High School where she had the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall, attend KMEA All-State Choirs, and ACDA National Honors Choirs. Her musicianship skills were further tested and honed under Dr. Kent Hatteberg at the University of Louisville where she traveled extensively internationally with the Cardinal Singers, presenting high-caliber programs in competitions and festivals. Emily has had the opportunity to sing with several professional choirs including Conspirare, Spire Chamber Ensemble, Saint Tikhon Choir, Artefact Ensemble, and the Louisville Chamber Choir. She can be heard on the albums “House of Belonging” (Conspirare), “Benedict Sheehan: Vespers” (Saint Tikhon Choir, featured soloist), “Songs of Christmas Night” (Louisville Chamber Choir, featured soloist.

Innovative and unique recital programming is another musical outlet that Emily enjoys delving into. During the pandemic, Emily and her longtime friend and mezzo-soprano Maria Miller, created a vibrant and playful art song recital called “Once Upon a Time” through their performance duo Opera in Overalls. In June 2023, Emily performed a curated recital program titled “Peace of Wild Things” in Louisville and Paducah, KY with clarinetist Matthew Nelson and pianist David George. The program included newly commissioned art song repertoire by composer Benedict Sheehan (Let Evening Come song cycle) and Blake Wilson (The Peace of Wild Things). Other repertoire included Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock, Meyerbeer’s Hirtenlied, Jocelyn Hagan’s cycle Songs of Fields and Prairies, and four of Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne. She was named a semifinalist in the 2023 Concert Artist Guild Competition which required unique and multi-disciplinary recital programming.

Emily is an alumnus several programs including SongFest, American Bach Soloists Academy, the Schloss Weissenbrunn’s Bovicelli Course, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Savannah VOICE Festival, and RISE Camp at Crested Butte Music Festival. She was also an Apprentice Studio Artist with Kentucky Opera and participant in John Harbison’s Bach Cantata Institute at The Colburn School. Through these experiences, she has been able to study with some of the foremost experts in these various fields and, in many cases, have extensive private coachings with faculty.

Competitions have also been a source of artistic development and growth for Emily and include the 2021 2nd Prize at the Oratorio Society of New York Vocal Competition, the 2019 Silver Medal and 2018 Sherrill Milnes Opera Award at the American Traditions Vocal Competition, First Place in the American Prize for Art Song-Professional Division, 1st Place in the Mid-South NATSAA Competition, 2nd Place in the 7th Annual Handel Aria Competition, and 1st Place in the Kentucky Bach Choir Audrey Rooney Vocal Competition.

Emily graduated with her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. While studying there, she performed extensively with the U of L Opera Theatre program and the U of L Cardinal Singers, and the Louisville Chamber Choir under the direction of Dr. Kent Hatteberg.

She currently resides in her hometown of Paducah, Kentucky and teaches private voice in her studio and in area public schools. She is co-founder of the chamber choral ensemble “Paducah Singers” with her husband, Fowler. When she’s not singing, teaching singing, or taking care of a sweet baby boy named Quincy, you can be sure to find Emily on the back patio with a glass of red wine and a good book.