Harpist Emily Stone distinguishes herself as a creative and passionate artist.  She has cultivated a multifaceted career as an orchestral musician, soloist, chamber collaborator, and pedagogue based in Chicago, IL.  

Driven by her love of orchestral music and collaboration, Stone performs frequently with numerous ensembles across the United States including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Des Moines Metro Opera, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and New World Symphony.  Her most recent engagements include performances with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago conducted by Roberto Kalb.  Ms. Stone served as the Harp Fellow for the 2023 National Orchestral Institute + Festival performing under conductors such as Marin Alsop, David Alan Miller, David Neely, John Morris Russel, and Joseph Young. In 2022, she toured with Il Volo on their Il Volo Sings Morricone & More Tour and Josh Groban on his Harmony Tour.

An avid chamber collaborator, she is a founding member of Duo D’Or (Flute and Harp) and Sospirare Trio (Flute, Viola, and Harp).  Guided by her passion for and advocacy of new music, she is the principal harpist and a featured artist with the New Earth Ensemble in Chicago, IL.  This prestigious group is dedicated to performing works that explore topics related to environmentalism, and their mission is to perform existing eco-choral works, commission new compositions, and engage in innovative interdisciplinary collaborations. From 2019-2021, she served as the principal harpist and a featured artist of the OSSIA New Music Ensemble in Rochester, NY.

An award-winning artist, Stone was named the First Prize Winner of Sigma Alpha Iota’s Dorothy E. Morris Memorial Award in 2022.  She was a Grand Finalist in the 2022 and 2020 American Harp Foundation’s Anne Adams Awards.

A distinguished pedagogue, Ms. Stone teaches both harp and piano. She is member of the faculty at the Music Conservatory of Illinois and the Logos School of Music and serves as a Harp Coach for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. A licensed Pre-K-12 music educator, she taught both elementary and high school string orchestra in the Webster School District and the Rochester City School District in upstate New York.

A native of Nashville, TN, Ms. Stone began her piano studies at age five and her harp studies at age eleven. A student of Kathleen Bride, Ms. Stone earned her B.M. degrees in Harp Performance and Music Education with a minor in French and Performer’s Certificate at the Eastman School of Music.  She continued her graduate studies at Northwestern University where she earned her M.M. degree in Harp Performance under the tutelage of Marguerite Lynn Williams and then at OAcademy Music Conservatory (Orchestra of the Americas) where she earned her A.D. with Distinction and the OAcademy Exceptional Achievement Award in the studio of Elizabeth Hainen.  This coming fall, she will pursue her D.M.A. degree in Harp Performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Gillian Benet Sella.  She is an active member of the American Harp Society and Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity and is the President of the Greater Chicago Chapter of the American Harp Society.  Outside of music, Stone loves traveling, baking, and spending time with family and friends.