Saluted by Music and Vision for her "beautifully rich tone, and an almost gypsy earthiness", violist Emma Alter is described by Paul McCreesh as 'one of the finest players of her generation.'

After completing her first degree on modern viola at the Royal Northern College of Music, Emma turned to early music and studied with Andrew Manze at the Royal College of Music and Lucy van Dael at the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten.

Emma now freelances playing chamber and orchestral music. She is a regular member of Gabrieli Consort and Players, the Academy of Ancient Music, and has played with many groups in the U.K. and beyond, including  the English Baroque Soloists, the Sixteen, Collegium Musicum 90, Hanover Band, Concerto Copenhagen, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging,  Aradia Ensemble and Texas Baroque.

Emma is currently principal viola with Collegium Musicum 90, and has taken principal roles with the Gabrieli Consort and Players, the Academy of Ancient Music and Opera 2001 Cork. She is a keen player of the viola d'amore.

Emma combines her playing with teaching: violin, viola and the Feldenkrais Method. She specialises in teaching musicians how to play and perform with greater ease and less anxiety. She has taught at most of the UK's conservatoires, including the Royal College of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music, The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Royal Birming Conservatoire, Royal Academy of Music and even the British Army at Sandhurst!

She has also been teaching on the Professional Feldenkrais Training in London since 2020.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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