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Emma (age 15) is an Honors Freshman at Navarre High School and participates in the Dual-Enrollment Program with the University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida, where she was recently recognized with the President’s Honor Roll for the 2026 Spring Semester. She is also a competitive runner for Navarre High’s Cross Country Team, who recognized her with the highest GPA Award for a 9th grader.
She has been studying and performing violin for the past ten years, and training under Dr. Leonid Yavnoskiy, Professor and Director of Strings and Orchestra, Dr. Grier Williams School of Music, University of West Florida (UWF), and Concertmaster, Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. Emma also performs weekly as an intern with the First Baptist Church Pensacola Orchestra.
In March 2022, Emma competed in the PMTA Concerto Competition held at UWF for Florida District 1, where she was awarded First Place for her rendition of Bach’s Concerto in A Minor. From there she advanced to the Florida State Strings Competition held at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she was selected as the Winner of the Junior Concerto State Strings Competition. Also, in 2022, she was selected as a finalist in the 35th Annual John Leatherwood Concerto Competition, Junior Division (Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra at Northwest Florida State College).
In July 2022, Emma was accepted and invited to attend musical training at the InterHarmony Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, where she received some of the best strings instructions available to students. She studied with an internationally recognized artist faculty, to include Masterclasses with Boris Kuschnir and Guy Braunstein, and collaborated with musical colleagues from around the globe.
In June of 2024, she was accepted and attended the Summer Violin Institute at the Bienen School of Music, Northwestern University. The Summer Violin Institute is an intensive six day program that offers participants the opportunity to work with renowned violin faculty.
In January 2025, she performed at the All-State Concert, Tampa FL., and in October 2025 Emma was recognized as the Alternate Winner for the State of Florida during the 2025 MTNA Junior Strings Competition.
In March of 2026, Emma earned First Place in Strings at UWF’s Music Study Club and Dr. Grier Williams School of Music Competition for her performance of Bach’s Partita for Violin, No. 3, and Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 in A Minor. Also in April of 2026, she was recognized as the winner of the UWF String Concerto Competition, performing Saint-Saens’s Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso.
Emma served as Concertmaster for the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra Youth PLAY OUT, 2024-25, as Concertmaster, Pensacola Symphony Youth Orchestra for the 2025-2026 Fall Semester, and Co-Concertmaster for the UWF Runge String Orchestra for 2026 Spring Semester.
Beginning in 2019, each summer she annually attends the UWF String Fest, an advanced week-long summer festival held at the Dr. Grier Williams School of Music, UWF.
In 2023, Emma volunteered and performed at three separate Benefit Concert for Ukraine events, raising funds for alittlemorehelp.org, a non-profit foundation supporting humanitarian efforts for the people of Ukraine.
C. Saint-Saëns, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
N. Paganini, Caprice No. 24
