EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks grew up on an organic farm where she presented her girlhood violin performances to a very attentive audience—her flock of merino sheep. As that violin grew from quarter-to a full-size, EmmaLee, with that expressive instrument in hand, made her way onto the stage as soloist with symphonies and then on to Carnegie Hall as a member of the Pangea String Quartet. Her career as a violinist has taken her on adventures across Europe, Japan, South America, Canada, and the United States. With a contagious energy and enthusiasm for sharing her music, EmmaLee enjoys performing classical, baroque, and contemporary music, as well as traditional and fusion fiddle music.
Armed with a performance degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a doctoral degree from SUNY Stony Brook, EmmaLee serves as principal second violinist of the New Bedford Symphony and as a busy chamber player on stage in venues on the East Coast, as well as the Midwest. She is on faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and the Birch Creek Summer Performance Center
A firm believer that music can move people, quite literally, EmmaLee takes the lead in string bands across New England and in the Midwest where her lively fiddle music drives the spirited old-time dancing. As a small tyke she took up her fiddle with the Rusty Pickup String Band, and this champion fiddler adds fiddling in both the classroom and on stage as a spice to enrich classical program
This innovative violinist appreciates the creative aspects of teaching violin and she’s equally at home with individuals and groups of all ages. EmmaLee strives to get to know each student and she tailors her teaching to each individual’s learning style and goals. Her students have gone on to open their own violin studios and to play in orchestras and string quartets.
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