Emma Noël Votapek

    Emma Noël Votapek has been a member of the Honolulu/Hawaii Symphony since 2004. She recently relocated to San Francisco, where she performs and tours with the San Francisco Symphony and is a member of the Oakland Symphony and Symphony Silicon Valley. She has also performed as Assistant Principal 2nd Violin of the Santa Cruz Symphony, a position she held with the Tucson Symphony for 5 seasons, and has also appeared as guest Concertmaster, Principal 2nd Violin and Principal Viola of the Fresno Philharmonic. An active chamber musician, Emma performs with Ensemble San Francisco, and spent four seasons as the violist of the Kingfisher String Quartet.

    In addition to performing, Emma has over 20 years of experience teaching and coaching chamber music, most recently at the Sierra Academy of Music, and as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Arizona. She has also taught at the Punahou School (Honolulu) and the St. Joseph’s School of Music (St. Paul, MN). During the summer, she performs in the Britt Festival and the Unbound Chamber Music Festival..

    Emma received a Master of Music degree in violin performance from the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Jorja Fleezanis. She completed her undergraduate studies at Rice University as a student of Sergiu Luca, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance and a Bachelor of Arts in economics.