Emma Vakiener is a freelance trumpeter and music educator based in Lexington, Kentucky and Elmira, New York. An active performer in the field, she has extensive experience in classical, jazz, commercial, and baroque music, appearing with ensembles including the University of Kentucky Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra and Trumpet Ensemble, Ithaca College Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble, and the Twin Tiers Community Orchestra, Trumpet Ensemble, and Brass Quintet. She also regularly performs for churches throughout the Elmira and Lexington regions.
Emma has earned national recognition through appearances at the National Trumpet Competition, where she was a semi-finalist in the Large Trumpet Ensemble Division in 2025, and returned to compete in 2026 with the largest all-female trumpet ensemble in competition history. She was also a semi-finalist in the Ryan Anthony Memorial Wind Band Excerpts Division at the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2025 and has performed multiple times at conferences and historic venues throughout the United States, such as The Metropolitan Art Gallery in New York City as part of the Historic Brass Society Symposium.
Vakiener is a recipient of the Todd Thomas Music Scholarship, promoting music throughout the Southern Tier of New York State, and the Bob Jeffcott Memorial Scholarship through the International Trumpet Guild. Emma is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Kentucky as a recipient of the prestigious Lyman T. Johnson Research Fellowship. She holds a New York State Teaching Certification in Music (PreK–12) and is a member of the International Trumpet Guild, International Women's Brass Conference, Historic Brass Society, National Association for Music Education, and Mu Phi Epsilon.
When not playing trumpet, you can find Emma working as an office assistant in UK's School of Music, working in the pharmacy as a pharmacy technician, or hanging out with her friends, or her cats, Oreo & Pookie.