Emma Kucich
(she/her)
INSTRUCTOR
Emma is a musician born and raised in Franklin, Massachusetts. Growing up, she has always been surrounded by music – her grandfather was a blues musician, and he taught her how to sing, play piano, and improvise with other musicians. By the time she was nine, she began playing piano and at age eleven, began playing flute in her school band and fell in love with the instrument.
In high school, Emma’s love of classical music began to grow and she immersed herself in every opportunity she could find, performing in school ensembles, the Claflin Hill Youth Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, as well as assorted chamber groups and pit orchestras.
Determined to continue her musical education, Emma attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she received a dual degree in Flute Performance and English. Here, Emma participated in the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Bach Festival Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, and UMass Theatre Guild Pit Orchestra.
In addition to teaching, Emma is playing third flute / piccolo with the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra this upcoming season, and plays as an alternate with the New Philharmonic based in Newton Massachusetts. In her spare time, she loves reading, hiking, and spending time with her two dogs, Murphy and Jilly.
Birthday: June 2nd
Schools Attended: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Instruments You Teach: Flute, Piccolo, Piano
Age you Started Lessons: Piano age 9, Flute age 13
Favorite Music to Listen to: Depends on the day! I will listen to anything from Monteverdi to Etta James, or Rachmaninoff to Remi Wolf!
Favorite Music to Play: Chamber Music – I love collaborating with other musicians!
Other Hobbies / Interests: Reading, hiking, antiquing, and spending time with my two dogs.
Something most people don’t know about you: I collect old books! I love searching antique stores for new additions to my collection – my oldest was printed in 1868!
Where you were born / grew up: Born and raised in Franklin MA
Practice Tips: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results. If you have been practicing a passage and nothing seems to help, try changing your approach to it. Try breaking it into chunks, try changing the rhythm (swinging, triplets, etc), or try anything that shakes things up from the approach you have been using. Often, this is what is needed to get tricky passages under your fingers.