Sam Ross - Youth Orchestra Director

Pacific Northwest based conductor and violist Sam Ross is a champion of contemporary music and music by underrepresented composers. As of 2025, he serves as the music director of the Grande Ronde Symphony in La Grande, and the Tilikum Chamber Orchestra in Portland, OR, alongside being the Youth Orchestra Director with the Oregon East Symphony. In concert, he has conducted the Orchestra Now, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony of Portland, and the Bard College Community Orchestra; and has regularly worked with the University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra and the Bard Conservatory Orchestra. Sam also works as a clinician with middle and high schools in Vancouver, WA and Salem, OR. 

Sam was a teaching artist with the Eugene Symphony during the 2024-25 season, working with the Douglas County Youth Orchestras in Roseburg OR. He has also performed with numerous orchestras as a professional violist under the batons of esteemed conductors such as Leon Botstein and Tan Dun with the Bard Conservatory Orchestra; as well as with the Eugene Symphony, Oregon Mozart Players, Vancouver Symphony (WA), the Newport Symphony and the Orchestra Next.

Sam graduated with a Master's of Music in Conducting in 2024 from the Graduate Conducting Program at Bard Conservatory in New York studying under James Bagwell, and a Bachelor's Degree in viola performance in 2022 from the University of Oregon.He attended the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra summer conducting seminar in 2023, studying with Markand Thakar; and performed in masterclasses on viola for Roberto Diaz, Ori Kam, and Brett Deubner.

Emily Muller-Cary - Lead Instructor, Symphony Strings

Emily Muller-Cary grew up in the Pendleton schools, studying violin first with Shirlene McMichael, later with Lee Friese, Dr. Lisa Robertson, and Dr. Phillip Baldwin. She began accompanying the Pendleton High School and Blue Mountain Community College choirs while in high school, and went on to study voice as well. Muller-Cary graduated from Pendleton High School and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music from Eastern Oregon University, a Master of Arts in Music Performance with emphases in voice, piano, and violin/viola from Eastern Washington University, and a Masters of Education in curriculum development and Instruction from Montana State University. Muller-Cary returned to the Pendleton area in 2007 to teach orchestra and strings in the schools, and now teaches high school choir as well. She also continues as the principal Viola in the Oregon East Symphony, in which she has played since age 11.

Emma Norquist - Conductor, Preludes; Teacher, Symphony Strings

Emma Norquist, formerly Emma Anderton, has a deep love of Pendleton’s local musical programs. Emma learned how to play the violin in the local elementary strings program when she was in fourth grade and continued playing all through her school years at Pendleton. Growing up, especially in fourth and fifth grade, her family could not afford private instruction in any instrument, so being able to learn to play the violin in the elementary strings program was a huge blessing to her and her family because Emma always loved music and wanted to learn an instrument. Kind teachers and generous family friends helped Emma to continue her music education by letting her borrow school instruments and by even giving her a violin. In high school, Emma had the opportunity to teach her own group of fourth grade violinists in the elementary strings program. It was in doing this that she realized that she enjoys teaching. She saved her own money so that she could pay for private lessons in high school under the tutelage of Dr. Lisa Robertson. She also got to play with the Oregon East Symphony in high school in the first and second violin sections. 

Emma moved away for a time after high school and returned in 2015. She was able to join the Oregon East Symphony again and to join the educational staff from 2016-2018. She attended Walla Walla University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 2020. While at Walla Walla University, she played in the Scholarship String Quartet (an audition-only ensemble sponsored by scholarship) and in the Symphony Orchestra as a violist and violinist. She also participated in the University Singers choir. Emma had the privilege of playing with the Walla Walla University Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in the summer of 2019.  

Since she graduated from Walla Walla University, she has rejoined the Oregon East Symphony and the educational staff as a violin and viola instructor. She is also an elementary music teacher at the Pendleton Early Learning Center and McKay Creek Elementary. Emma has taught private violin and viola lessons for many years and loves being able to give back to the community that gave her the opportunity to grow and develop her talent for music and for teaching. She wants to help underprivileged children in Pendleton continue to have access to a quality music education and encourage them to follow their musical dreams.