Amber Emson, violin

Amber is the First Prize winner of the International Music Competition Hohenpriesnitz, and Germany’s national “Jugend Musiziert” competition, as well as Second Prize at International Competition “Szymon Goldberg”, amongst others.  She has been invited for chamber and solo performances at major concert halls worldwide, such as Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berliner Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Singapore Victoria Hall, ANAM Quartethaus in Melbourne and Rheingau Musikfestival.

A passionate chamber musician, she took part in ‘Mit Musik – Miteinander’ at Kronberg Academy in 2018, and regularly participated at ‘MusicWorks’ under the guidance of mentors including Catherine Manson, James Boyd, Robert Max and Alasdair Beatson. She has been invited to projects and classes including at the Stauffer Center for Strings, Yellowbarn, the Saline Royale Academy, Festival Resonances Academy, Rome Chamber Music Festival, International Summer Academy Mozarteum University, Maiastra, and the British Isles Music Festival. Between 2019 and 2022, she was a member of LGT Young Soloists, with whom she appeared playing Phillip Glass’s Echorus on their most recent album, which is available on various global streaming platforms.

Amber started playing violin at the age of 5 as a pupil of Margaret Norris and later Natasha Boyarsky. She was a student at Chetham’s School of Music 2014-16 and attended the Royal College of Music’s Junior Department between 2016 and 2019, where she took lessons with Maciej Rakowski. She currently studies violin at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of So-Ock Kim.

In addition, Amber has a strong interest in historical performance practice and is studying baroque violin with the guidance of Nicolette Moonen. She also plays viola, as member of the Toccata Quartet.

During recent years, Amber has taken part in masterclasses with such professors as Gerhard Schulz and András Keller at IMS Prussia Cove, Mauricio Fuks at the Kronberg Academy Masterclasses, Pavel Vernikov, and Kolja Blacher at the Carl Flesch Akademie.

Amber has been supported by a number of trusts and foundations, amongst those the National Youth Arts Trust, Kathleen Trust, the Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust, Awards for Young Musicians, EMI Music Sound Foundation, the Gerald Finzi Trust, the Rhone Reid Charitable Trust, the Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust, Spoff’s Chamber Music Scholarships, Talent Unlimited and the Hattori Foundation.

Amber plays on a violin by William Taylor from 1806.