Emily West is a professionally trained harpist currently located in East Central Indiana. Pursuing music at a young age with piano lessons in elementary school, Emily began taking harp lessons in high school at Ball State University under Jaclyn Wappel and Professor Elizabeth Richter. Throughout high school, Emily was active as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician participating in the Youth Symphony Orchestras of East Central Indiana (YSOECI), the Indiana All-State Orchestra, the Music For All Summer Symposium, the Midwest Harp Festival, and the Ball State Harp Ensemble. In the 2017-18 YSOECI season, Emily won the Leonard Atherton Concerto Competition Award, performing Claude Debussy's 'Danse Sacrée for Harp and String Orchestra' with the YSOECI as well as with the East Central Indiana Chamber Orchestra (ECICO). The following summer, she was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2018 Midwest Harp Festival Solo Competition, Advanced I division.

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       Emily obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Harp Performance from Ball State University where she studied with Professor Elizabeth Richter and Dr. Joanne King. She continued her piano studies as well with a secondary instrument study in piano under the instruction of Ruth Oh and Alessandro Riccardi. While at Ball State, Emily performed Maurice Ravel's 'Introduction & Allegro' with the Ball State Symphony Orchestra as one of the 2020-21 undergraduate concerto competition winners. Recipient of the 'Outstanding Senior Award' at the Ball State School of Music Honors Convocation, Emily graduated summa cum laude in the spring of 2022. In May of 2024, she received her Masters degree in Harp Performance with an Arts Administration Certificate from the University of Colorado Boulder where she studied with Professor Janet Harriman. Emily has participated in harp masterclasses with Alice Giles, Trina Bourne, Faye Seeman, Diane Evans, Mary Bircher, Beth Robinson, Dr. Grace Bauson, Dr. Jaclyn Wappel, Grace Browning, and Emily Levin. Passionate about mental health awareness and leadership skills within the field of music, Emily has pursued further education in these topics taking masterclasses with Dr. Jack Singer, Dr. Noa Kageyama, Cory Barger, Jennifer Johnson, Dana Fonteneau, and YoungMin You. Among the top 10% of academically achieving collegiate scholars in participating universities within the U.S., Emily has received nominations to join the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) as well as the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS).

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        Emily has received multiple awards both nationally and internationally for her artistry including First Prize in the Jan Pennington Gray Harp Competition of 2023-24, Gold Prize in the London Young Musicians International Competition, First Prize in the International Clara Schumann Competition, First Prize in the London Classical Music Competition, Second Prize in the International Classical Music Stars competition, and a Special Award for Expressive Performance from the London Young Musician's Jury Panel. Emily has performed as guest principal harpist with the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Colorado School of Mines Symphony Orchestra, and the Soo Theater; she has also subbed as second harpist with the National Repertory Orchestra.​

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        With several years of experience as both a harp/piano instructor and special events musician, Emily is dedicated to sharing her love of music with others. Maintaining the philosophy that musical experiences and opportunities should be easily accessible to all audiences, Emily is eager to encourage the next generation of musicians in developing their musical talents as well as in helping to create further resources in regard to mental health awareness within the music world. Emily will be receiving Suzuki Book One Training under Delaine Leonard at the Utah Suzuki Harp Institute in June of 2024 and will be joining the faculty of the Indianapolis Suzuki Academy as a harp instructor in the fall.

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