Emily Jones (17, violin) is a junior at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, and a student of Desiree Ruhstrat at the Music Institute of Chicago. At New Trier, Emily is co-concertmaster of the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. Emily is also a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) and Encore, CYSO’s chamber orchestra. In April 2012, the New Trier High School Symphony returned from a tour to Australia, where they performed at the Sydney Opera House. Emily plans to tour Madrid and Barcelona in June 2012 with CYSO.

In 2009, Emily had the opportunity to play side-by-side with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela at Symphony Center, led by Gustavo Dudamel. In 2011, she played alongside the Carlos Chavez Youth Orchestra from Mexico City under the direction of Riccardo Muti.

At the Music Institute of Chicago, Emily has been a member of the Zephyr String Quartet, a 2011 quarter-finalist at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and currently is a member of the Leonardo Piano Quartet. In past years, she participated as a performer in MIC’s Composer’s Lab led by Mischa Zupko and Eighth Blackbird cellist, Nicholas Photinos. Her trio premiered student-written chamber works at Fulcrum Point (2010).

As a soloist, Emily has received first prizes at the Walgreens National Concerto Competition, Midwest Young Artists’ Junior division (2008), the James Glacking Young Musicians Competition (2010) and the Senior Division of the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius (2011). As a result, she soloed with MYA’s Concert Orchestra in February 2009, performing the Khachaturian Violin Concerto; in March 2011, she soloed with the North Suburban Symphony; and in November 2011 she performed on MFHC’s winners concert at Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago. Emily has also received awards at the Society of American Musicians competition and Music at Trinity Competition.

In 2011, Emily attended the Summit Music Festival in New York to study with Aaron Rosand of the Curtis Institute. She plans to return to the Casalmaggiore International Festival this summer, where she has studied with Dora Schwartzberg and Lucia Hall.