Dr. Emily Ondracek-Peterson is a leader in numerous fields: performance, artistic direction, arts advocacy, administration, education, career research, entrepreneurship, and academia. She holds performance degrees from The Juilliard School and a doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. As violinist, she has received acclaim from leading publications including The New York Times, been soloist with ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and recorded for leading record labels. Dr. Ondracek-Peterson is a leader in multiple organizations – Executive Director of the Diehn School at Old Dominion University Festival Director of the Crested Butte Music Festival. Additionally, she holds an MBA with specializations in both Leadership and Entrepreneurship.
Dr. Ondracek-Peterson’s Organizations:
- Diehn School of Music at Old Dominion University (Executive Director)
- Crested Butte Music Festival (Festival / Artistic Director)
- EOP String Competition and Festival (Founder and Executive Director)
- Voxare String Quartet (1st violinist)
- Noted Endeavors (Co-Founder with Eugenia Zukerman)
Praised by The New York Times for her “elegant solowork,” and by Strad magazine for her “dazzling passagework,” Dr. Ondracek is a rising star of violin performance. Dr. Ondracek is a native of Chicago and began playing the violin at the age of 4. When sixteen she gave her solo debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Concertos. Dr. Ondracek has performed solo and chamber music performances at all of the major venues in New York City including as soloist at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Guggenheim, MoMA, {le} poisson rouge, the Apollo Theatre, Bargemusic, Merkin Hall, Alvin Ailey Dance Center, Trinity Wall Street, Steinway Hall, and Symphony Space. She has also performed at festivals such as the Aspen, Sarasota, Italy’s Festival de Due Mondi, and the Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Summer Music Festival, where she was presented the Joseph Gingold Award for most outstanding instrumentalist. Currently, she is Co-Artistic Director of the Crested Butte Music Festival, a summer-long festival presenting the world’s best opera, symphony, chamber music, bluegrass, rock, electronica, and more. Dr. Ondracek has recorded for Naxos, Albany, and Toccata labels.
As first violinist of the acclaimed Voxare String Quartet, Dr. Ondracek has been awarded Chamber Music America’s ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. With Voxare she tours nationally and abroad. She has also performed and recorded with the Talea Ensemble; the Wordless Orchestra with Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead); Axiom; Classical Jam; the Japanese band, Mono. Taking pride in contemporary-music advocacy, she has worked with composers both young and established, including Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Ned Rorem and David Del Tredici, both of which has requested recordings of their works. Dr. Ondracek has studied chamber music with Robert Mann, founder of the Juilliard String Quartet, David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet, and members of the Juilliard, Kronos, American, and Vermeer Quartets.
Education plays a large role in Dr. Ondracek’s professional activities. Currently, Dr. Ondracek is Executive Director of the Diehn School of Music at Old Dominion University, and is on faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Ondracek has held residencies at Dartmouth College, the University of Leeds (UK), University of Virginia, and others. She is a two-time Morse Fellow and was a New York Philharmonic Teaching Artist, bringing creative music instruction to a wide range of K-12 schools including those in Harlem and the Bronx. Currently, she sits on the Educational Board of the Colorado Symphony. Dr. Ondracek’s research has been presented throughout the United States; she delivered the keynote seminar at the College Music Society’s National Conference. Dr. Ondracek is certified as a Suzuki instructor and teaches at Suzuki institutes and workshops throughout the country.
Dr. Ondracek received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Masao Kawasaki under a Morse Scholarship. At Teachers College, Columbia University, Dr. Ondracek received her doctorate in Music and Music Education; her research into the careers of classically-trained musicians culminated in a 500-page doctoral thesis. She also holds an MBA with specializations in both Leadership and Entrepreneurship.