Founder and Owner

Emily Weinkauf Kidder is an international adoptee from South Korea. Born in Seoul, she was relinquished to an adoption agency on or around February 1979, at thirteen months of age. Assigned to a Korean foster family with a mother, father, two brothers, and a sister, she lived with them for six months until she was placed with her adoptive family in the United States in August 1979.

On the first step of her journey to the US, the agency unintentionally put her on the wrong plane and was expected to arrive earlier than expected, destination Los Angeles, California instead of Portland, Oregon. As it would happen, the family had decide to take a family trip to Disneyland before the "new baby" arrived which happened to fall on the same weekend as her arrival at the airport. All of the family could be in attendance!

Growing up, Emily's education included influences of Spanish immersion, public school, and private Catholic school.

Emily began formal piano lessons at age three with her mother's friend and accompanist, Lydia Lord, who gave her the foundations of her musical studies. She moved the piano studio of David Chase until age eighteen and also studied dance and participated in choirs in high school and college. She was an ensemble member in Eugene Festival of Musical Theater's The Music Man and Princess Ying Yaowalak / Topsy in The King and I. Emily earned her MBA in Music Business from Southern New Hampshire University and Berklee College of Music and studied Piano Performance and Communication at UO and Corban University.

This is Emily's 14th Season as Rehearsal and Orchestra Pianist for SHEDD THEATRICALS. A career highlight was performing at the Hult Center in the core orchestra as a keyboardist for the 2nd National Tour of Wicked. She performed for a Lane Arts Council event highlighting Asian artists in our community and was band leader for The Jazz Kings, Let’s Misbehave - The Cole Porter Songbook.

Emily traveled to Vienna, Austria in March 2024 to teach folk and traditional American music to high school students attending Gymnázium Žďár nad Sázavou.

Emily has served on the music faculty at Bushnell University School of Music and Performing Arts for fourteen years where she is currently an accompanist for ensembles and private studios. She is instructor of applied piano and Survey of Music Business and contributes marketing content and books their touring ensemble. Emily also works at Clay Space ceramics studio helping artists and students in the visual arts.

She is blessed with two college-aged children and grateful to her family and mentors who have inspired her love of the arts. Emily hopes SYMP Community Choir and Orchestra will be a place of connection, growth, and joy for Lane County and beyond.