Emma Koi maintains an eclectic career as an orchestral, chamber and collaborative flutist. She plays flute and piccolo with the Wisconsin Philharmonic Orchestra, is Principal Flute of the Festival City Symphony, and is an alum of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She plays as a substitute with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Rockford Symphony, Kenosha Symphony and Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. She holds a Master of Music in Flute Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and degrees in music (BA) and dance (BFA) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her teachers include Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza and Caen Thomason-Redus.
Emma is a co-founder of Cadance Collective, a Milwaukee-based ensemble of musicians and dancers, treating choreography and composition as equal tools in creating new work for the stage. She enjoys collaborative and chamber music projects, and has performed locally with Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Present Music, Milwaukee Musaik, Frankly Music, Access Contemporary Music for Doors Open Milwaukee, and on many recital projects with Milwaukee area musicians. Emma enjoys a regular schedule of collaborative projects, and has worked with Danceworks Performance Company, Wild Space Dance Company, and in collaboration with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Composer-in-Residence Anna Clyne.
Emma Koi has a private teaching studio at Washington Heights Creative Works, and is on the faculty at Carroll University. She is a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) and enjoys teaching workshops in movement and body awareness for musicians.
Emma lives in Milwaukee with her husband and two young children, and is the founder of Mother Maker, an online magazine and podcast featuring interviews with artists who are mothers.