Emily Packard is a Bay Area, CA based violinist. She has just completed an MFA degree at Mills College in violin improvisation after spending far too many years in the classical music sinkhole of lousy orchestras and cheesy weddings. Teachers include Fred Frith and Joelle Leandre for improvisation and David Abel, Daniel Kobialka and Bettina Mussumeli on violin. She plays the octave violin (thicker lower strings), viola and bowed psaltery as well as violin and is working on some electo/ acoustic solo projects, to be posted in the near future.
Emily is interested in collaborating with contemporary music composers, especially those who blur the line between notated and improvised music. She also loves to work with dancers, electronic music composers and other open minded instrumentalists. Gigging bands are nice too! She has played or in many styles including classical, contemporary compositions, Irish fiddle, rock, folk singer/ songwriter music, Arabic, and free improvisation.
Recent projects include performances of pieces by Annie Gosfield, Zachary Watkins, Nicole Reisnour, Ruby Fulton, Damon Waitkus, Jason Hoopes, Amanda Schoofs, Ivor Holloway, Liz Meredith and Keisuke Nakagoshi. She was a participant in the Bang On A Can 2007 summer institute. Currently she is working with fellow musicians Shanya Dunkleman (percussion) and Kanoko Nishi (piano) on a brand new and currently nameless trio. She is also a member of the Arabic Orchestra of San Francisco, started by 'oud player Saed Musshin. Emily was formerly a member of Daily Mouse, a Worchester, MA based band, fronted by Sou MacMillian. Check out "Opabinia" for her newest string quartet projects.
