Emma McAllister

Emma McAllister was raised in a family of musicians, starting her Suzuki violin training at age 3. Throughout her childhood and teenage years Emma performed with the Sacramento Youth Symphony, as well as Villa Sinfonia and Villa Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco. Emma graduated high school at age 16 and started community college, with the flexible class schedule allowing for more time devoted to violin practice, commuting to lessons, orchestra rehearsals, and gaining teaching experience.

Emma earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance, followed by her Master of Music degree in Violin Performance, from the Bob Cole Conservatory at Cal State Long Beach, under the mentorship of Moni Simeonov, as well as occasional lessons from Midori Goto. In her senior year of undergrad, Emma auditioned and was chosen by Ms. Goto to be the recipient of a loaner violin from a collection of fine instruments. During this time Emma was a section violinist in both Debut Orchestra and American Youth Symphony in Los Angeles.

After graduating with her master’s degree, Emma spent two more years in Long Beach, CA teaching her private studio of violin and piano students, and playing for various shows and recording sessions in Los Angeles. Emma can be seen playing violin on episodes of The Ellen Show, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: An American Crime Story, the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award for John Williams, and GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends (2019). Most recently, Emma recorded in the orchestra for the Netflix Original animated show Green Eggs and Ham, and performed for ‘The Little Mermaid’ Live at the Hollywood Bowl and The Game Awards 2019. Emma also enjoyed teaching and consulting for the violin scenes on the Hulu original series, Little Fires Everywhere.

Now in 2020, Emma has returned to California after ten months of living in London, accompanying for The Little London Music School, playing for weddings and events, recording with jazz group Down for the Count, and teaching with Kent Music. Her time in London was cut short due to Covid-19, but Emma is happy to be back with family in sunny California, and is accepting new students of all ages and levels for lessons, both online and in person.