Auburn Symphony Orchestra has named Emilie Choi as its new concertmaster following the retirement of Brittany Boulding.

Choi, an avid chamber musician and orchestral violinist, is the assistant concertmaster at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She is an active player with Lincoln Center Stage and recently appeared as a guest concertmaster with the Auburn Symphony in April.

“A considerable factor in hiring Emilie is on account of her outstanding musicianship, which we all enjoyed at the season finale concert in April,” ASO Music Director Wesley Schulz said. “Emilie is a big asset to the orchestra, and we all look forward to sharing in her musical gifts in the season to come.”

In her new role, Choi will be the lead musician of the orchestra and provide technical advice and expertise to the string section, along with being a community ambassador.

Born and raised in Seattle, Choi began her music studies at the age of 5. She earned a masters of music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Stephen Rose. She also has a certificate of historical performance practice from Case Western Reserve University and bachelor’s degrees in music performance and speech and hearing sciences from the University of Washington.

Aside from traditional classical music, Emilie explores many different genres. She is an active Baroque violinist, having performed with Pacific MusicWorks since 2018, and also enjoys playing blues, jazz and contemporary music.

“I am both excited and honored to accept the concertmaster position. Opportunities like this don’t come by very often,” Choi said. “When I played in April, everyone was so warm and receptive. I’m lucky to be part of such a great community.”

The announcement comes just after the launch of Auburn Symphony’s 2019-20 Season, during which the symphony is expanding its programs and performing at new venues – including Geaux Brewing and the Auburn International Farmers Market.

Auburn Symphony’s next concert – the first of its 2019 Summer Series – is at 7 p.m. June 27 at Mary Olson Farm.

Choi’s first official appearance as concertmaster will be at the Symphony Series concert on Oct. 13: Pictures at an Exhibition with multimedia visuals by Seattle artist Adrian Wyard. Tickets and information can be found at auburnsymphony.org or by calling 253-887-7777.

“Playing in a symphony is all about collaboration and to have such fantastic colleagues makes me very excited for our upcoming concerts,” Choi said.