Dr. Emily Salgado is an active percussionist, educator, and conductor whose career spans solo, chamber, and orchestral performance, as well as teaching, adjudicating, and commissioning new music. She has performed and premiered works with the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan, Twin Lakes Duo, and the Omaha Symphony Orchestra.
Her current project, Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History, features works by Jennifer Jolley, Molly Joyce, Shruthi Rajasekar, and Juri Seo written for and dedicated to pioneering percussionists Evelyn Glennie, Margie Hyams, Keiko Abe, and Terri Lyne Carrington—celebrating women whose artistry has shaped the field of percussion.
In 2023, Emily co-founded Twin Lakes Duo with percussionist Jimmy Stagnitti to perform and promote contemporary works for percussion duo. Their recent performances included premieres of web_2 by Ancel Neely and Zone of Avoidance by Alexis Lamb, both commissioned through the Fischer/Lau Project. The duo is preparing for a national tour in the upcoming season.
Beyond performance, Emily’s conducting experience includes serving as assistant and head drum major with Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps. She continues to work with Crown’s Leadership Camp, mentoring drum majors nationwide, and joined the brass staff in 2023, contributing to the ensemble’s Jim Ott Memorial Brass Award–winning season.
Dr. Salgado is Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she teaches applied lessons, directs the Percussion Ensemble and Nebraska Steel, and leads courses in percussion studies. She also serves on the University Pedagogy Committee and the Percussive Arts Society Diversity Alliance.
Emily proudly endorses Pearl/Adams, Black Swamp Percussion, Remo Inc., Avedis Zildjian Co., and Vic Firth.
