Emily Gunby is a versatile oboe/English hornist and accomplished music educator from Marietta, Georgia. She received her Master of Music with a double concentration in music education and oboe performance and a post-master’s Artist Certificate in oboe performance at Georgia State University (GSU) under the tutelage of Dr. Lara Dahl. Emily earned her Bachelor of Music Education from Kennesaw State University (KSU), where she studied oboe with Elizabeth Koch Tiscione (Principal Oboe - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra), Barbara Cook, and Shelly Myers. As a student performer, Emily consistently held principal oboe positions in esteemed ensembles, including the GSU Symphony Orchestra, GSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and KSU Wind Ensemble.

 

Her passion for performance has also led her to collaborate with ensembles in the metro-Atlanta area, such as Chamber Music Atlanta, Georgia Philharmonic, Georgia Ballet, Atlanta International Symphony Orchestra, Masterworks Chorale, GSU Repertory Singers, and Atlanta Musicians Orchestra. Emily was a full-time member of Tara Winds, one of the most prestigious and decorated community wind ensembles of the Southeast. She is a winner of the 2024-25 GSU Brumby Concerto Competition and performed the Goossens Oboe Concerto in One Movement with the GSU Symphony Orchestra. She has performed on the French Riviera, twice at the Georgia Music Educators Association Conference in Athens, GA, and at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Emily is also an oboist and founding member of Camerata Música de Atlanta, a new professional chamber group that performs at metro-Atlanta venues in the spring. She can be heard as the English hornist in an upcoming documentary, Harmony of Freedom, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act in 2025.

 

In addition to performing, Emily is passionate about music education and its role in cultivating the next generation of musicians. She annually serves as the conductor of the double reed ensemble at Georgia State University’s Double Reed Day and has received masterclass instruction from many fabulous oboe teachers including Zach Boeding, Claire Chenette, Dr. Courtney Miller, Dr. Laura Medisky, Jaren Atherholt, and Dr. Alyssa Morris. Her roles as a Teaching Assistant for Music Theory I and as a Writing Across the Curriculum Fellow at GSU allowed her to guide and support undergraduate students. Additionally, Emily acted as a Music Education Department Research Assistant, supervising student teachers, assisting in curriculum development, researching, and building courses. Her co-authored article with Kate Alward, “Preventing Burnout in the Next Generation of Teachers”, was published in the Fall 2024 issue of Georgia Music News magazine. Emily’s freelance career as an oboe instructor helps her to share her educational expertise with aspiring musicians, providing private lessons, oboe reeds, sectionals, and masterclasses to many students and schools around Georgia. She is an active member of the National Association for Music Educators, International Double Reed Society, Atlanta Federation of Musicians, and Tau Beta Sigma Alumni Association. 

 

Apart from playing oboe and teaching, Emily enjoys reading, learning new crafting skills, playing video games and Dungeons and Dragons with her friends, bird watching, gardening, traveling, and hanging out with her two Siamese cats, Finn and Casper. She is currently based out of the Alpharetta/Johns Creek area with her fiancé, who also happens to be a band director, Jared Cook.