emelyn bashour

Violin

Detroit-based violinist Dr. Emelyn Bashour currently holds positions as Principal 2nd Violin of the Detroit Opera Orchestra and Assistant Concertmaster of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and is also a member of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Orchestra. As a soloist and chamber player, Emelyn is a passionate advocate for contemporary music and has participated in the New Music Workshop at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (2022); the Cortona Sessions for New Music in Ede, Netherlands (2024), where she was a finalist in their Contemporary Performance Competition; and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra Academy (2024), where she served as concertmaster. Her recording credits include the world premiere recording of “The Story of Patient No. 23” by Remi Inari on if you believe in the shadow… (2024), Evan Ware’s The Quietest of Whispers (2023, Neuma Records), and the GRAMMY-nominated John Luther Adams’ Sila: The Breath of the World (2022, Cantaloupe Music).  

Emelyn holds degrees from Michigan State University (D.M.A., 2024), University of Michigan (M.M., 2020), the Eastman School of Music (B.M., 2018), and University of Rochester (B.A., 2018). She has participated in many selective fellowship programs including Orpheus@Mannes (2019), Vermont Mozart Festival (2018), National Orchestral Institute (2016), and the Aspen Music Festival (2014). She was a fellow of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra in 2018, 2019, and 2022, where she served as concertmaster for flagship productions of Salome (2019) and La Bohème (2022) and was engaged as a featured soloist for the 2020 season. 

Currently a member of the Detroit-based Kalkaska String Quartet, she regularly performs as a featured artist on FeverUp’s Candlelight Classical series. She also manages The Philomel Project (www.philomelproject.com), an online database of solo and chamber works by women composers aimed at increasing accessibility for student musicians.