About Me

Emily Kubitskey received her Master of Education, M. Ed., from the Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University and her Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. During her time at Vanderbilt, Emily extensively taught for and studied the effectiveness of non-profit music organizations for children. As a freelance Teaching Artist, clarinetist, and organist in the greater Los Angeles area, Emily’s passion and career is creating an environment in which all children, particularly those who are underserved, have the opportunity to thrive personally and socially through music.

Currently, Emily is the Woodwind Specialist and a Wind Ensemble Director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s signature ‘El Sistema’ program – YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). She works at the HOLA (Heart of Los Angeles) site in the Rampart District, where, as a member of the inaugural staff, she helped build the wind program and curriculum from the ground up to now 80 students from ages 8-15. At HOLA, she is also the Chamber Ensemble Director, where she has created and organized YOLA at HOLA’s top-performing ensembles, repertoire, and performance schedule. Simultaneously, Emily is a Curriculum Writer and Teaching Artist for the LA Phil’s In-School Residency Program. In this position, she has created, presented, and taught curricula that are implemented in over 15 LAUSD schools, to hundreds of teachers, and over 3,000 students. Through this work, she has been featured in a PBS Educational Documentary. Emily is also a Mentor Teacher for the Longy School of Music of Bard College’s Master of Arts in Teaching program where she assesses, guides, and works with college students who have a focus on teaching in a musical and ‘El-Sistema’ setting.

Most recently, Emily has also been appointed as a Master Teacher for the Colburn Conservatory, where her current appointment includes conducting the top Wind Ensembles at Ramon C. Cortines Visual and Performing Arts High School in Downtown LA, as well as teaching A.P. Music Theory.

Past experiences include working for Education through Music – Los Angeles, where Emily wrote and taught a recorder curriculum to over 1,000 students and staff at five different schools in LAUSD, and at multiple professional development workshops. In addition, she has successfully been an assistant to the MAT teaching program (under the collaboration of the LA Phil, Bard College, and Longy School of Music), as well as the assistant in running the LA Phil’s international El Sistema-inspired symposium – Take A Stand.

In her spare time, Emily enjoys competitive running, a good Kentucky bourbon, and hashing through Bach Preludes and Fugues. In that order 🙂