Violist Emily Brandenburg, who joined the Cassatt String Quartet in 2024, is known for her fiercely committed and thoughtful artistry. She is a passionate chamber musician, with a complex and unique low-voice sound that blends elements of deep expressivity and introspection.

Emily Brandenburg has enjoyed a varied career focused on chamber music, solo projects, and orchestral playing in equal measure. She has performed with large ensembles such as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Albany and Portland Symphonies; and with chamber music groups including the Metropolis Ensemble and the Frisson Chamber Ensemble. She has served as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Evansville, principal violist of the Evansville Philharmonic, and violist of the Eykamp String Quartet; and appeared at Yellow Barn, Norfolk, Bowdoin, Rome, and Amelia Island chamber music festivals.

Brandenburg, an avid lover of new music, has shared recent projects that include recording and premiering an album by singer/songwriter Emily Wells; commissioning a new work from composer Will Rowe; and, most recently, “Telekinesis,” a large-scale project with the Metropolis Ensemble, Brooklyn Youth Choir, and The Crossing Choir to record the music of Tyondai Braxton. Brandenburg’s championing of contemporary music – and particularly the music of women composers – continues with joining the Cassatt Quartet, with whom she will premiere works by Joan Tower, Victoria Bond, and Mari Kimura.

Emily Brandenburg holds degrees from Yale University, New England Conservatory, and the McDuffie Center for Strings. She is a certified Suzuki teacher, and her experiences growing up — beginning formal training at five, and surrounded by grandparents, parents, and five siblings who were musicians — solidified her belief that all children, and all music students, can grow to succeed and deeply love music if nurtured. In fall 2024, Brandenburg joins the faculty of Riverdale Country School, teaching both viola and violin.