Emily Cook is a dynamic performer and educator based in Pittsburgh, PA and Bloomington, IN. She currently serves as principal clarinetist of the Evansville Philharmonic and Carmel Symphony Orchestra, bass clarinetist with the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, and as third clarinetist of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra; formerly, she held positions with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond (VA) Symphony Orchestra. In recent seasons, she has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, Sinfonia da Camera, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, and Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. Emily is dedicated to performing new music and served as the clarinetist and artistic director of Kamratōn from 2015-2025. During that period, Kamratōn premiered over 50 works for mixed chamber ensemble, including five of her own compositions. Emily has also appeared with jazz/fusion group the Afro-Yaqui Music Collective and is active in Pittsburgh’s free improvisation community.

Emily received an artist diploma and a master’s degree from Duquesne University, where she studied with Ron Samuels and served as a graduate assistant in the music history and theory departments. Previously, Emily studied with David Bell at Lawrence University, graduating with degrees in K-12 music education and clarinet performance.  Her other teachers include Jack Howell, Larry McDonald, Eric Ginsberg, and Louis Margaglione.  She has presented research blending music theory and performance studies on the work of Kaija Saariaho at the CUNY Graduate Center and at SUNY-Buffalo.

Emily is passionate about supporting the next generation of musicians and serves on the faculties of DePauw University and Chatham University. Previously, she taught at Millikin University as a sabbatical replacement and at St. Vincent de Paul School in Bedford, IN, where she led the instrumental music program. Her students have performed as principal clarinetist of the Indiana All-State Orchestra, been selected as an alternate for the National Youth Orchestra of the United States, and have performed as winners of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony and Carmel Symphony concerto competitions. When she’s not playing or teaching, she enjoys birding and spending time outdoors with her husband, bassist Jeffrey Turner, and her two wonderful stepchildren.

Photo credit: Alisa Innocenti