Emily Vaughn – Violin/Viola, (Faculty Member Since 2018):   Emily Vaughn earned a Masters in Music Pedagogy from Western Kentucky University and Bachelors of Music in Viola Performance and Music Education from the University of Tennessee. Mrs. Vaughn currently serves as Principal Violist of the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra located in Johnson City, TN. Mrs. Vaughn was awarded the Yates Scholarship to attend the UT School of Music based on her outstanding level of performance. She served as Strings Director at Mountain View Elementary School in Johnson City, TN, where she taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students. Mrs.Vaughn has also assisted at the Science Hill High School orchestra program. During her time at UT she volunteered at the Joy of Music School where she taught private lessons to underprivileged students. Mrs. Vaughn became a volunteer for the Daraja Music Initiative, a non-profit organization in Moshi, Tanzania, and assisted Dr. Ching-Yi Lin in initiating a beginning strings program for students of the Majengo Primary School in 2016. While working on her Masters in Music Pedagogy she became a faculty member teaching violin and viola at Western Kentucky University’s Pre-College Strings Program. She also taught violin group classes for WKU’s Violin Fest and Summer String Institute from 2015-2018. Mrs. Vaughn assisted in directing student teachers and volunteers in teaching the violin to refugee children in Bowling Green, KY.

For four years, she served as an assistant at the UT Viola Celebration. In addition to her teaching activities, Mrs. Vaughn is an active performer. She was awarded the UT summer research scholarship to study viola, orchestra, and chamber music intensively at Sewanee Summer Music Festival, and she is a graduate of the Viola Winter Intensive at the South Carolina  Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. She has performed in masterclasses with Dr. Juliet White-Smith, George Taylor, and Timothy Deighton. During her time at UT, she was the Assistant Principal for The University of Tennessee Orchestra, and the University of Tennessee Chamber Orchestra. Her principal teachers were Katie Dey, Hillary Herndon, and Andrew Braddock.