Emily Thomas Waters, director

Since 1982, Virginia’s Charlottesville High School Orchestra (CHSO) program has grown from eight members to one of the largest in the commonwealth, and has earned a national reputation for excellence. The CHSO has won top prizes in music festivals in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Williamsburg, Orlando, Dallas, Myrtle Beach, and London, England. The Orchestra earned a standing ovation for its performance at the opening concert of the 1994 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, in Chicago. In 1998, the Orchestra placed second in the 27th Annual Youth and Music Festival in Vienna, Austria, and presented concerts in Hallstatt, Vienna, and Prague, Czech Republic. In 2014, the CHSO String Ensemble performed in Charlottesville’s Sister City of Besançon, as well as at Chartres Cathedral and the American Cathedral, in Paris (France). The CHS Orchestra program consists of the String Ensemble and the Concert Orchestra. In addition, the CHS Symphony Orchestra is created for one concert each year by combining the top members of the CHS Wind Ensemble with the CHS Strings.

Emily Thomas Waters graduated from Charlottesville High School and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music with a concentration in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She served as concertmaster of the VCU Symphony. Ms. Waters served as the Director of the Frank W. Cox High School Orchestra in Virginia Beach (2015-2018) and then she returned home to direct the Walker Upper Elementary School Orchestra. Ms. Waters earned her Masters’ degree in Music Education at James Madison University (JMU) in 2021, year in which she was awarded the JMU Graduate School Innovation Award and the JMU Dr. Alice Hammel Inclusion in Music Education Award. In 2022, Ms. Waters was hired to succeed her mother Laura Mulligan Thomas upon her retirement after four decades as the CHSO Director. Ms. Waters and the CHSO have continued her legacy of excellence; in the past two years they earned gold medals at competitive festivals in Orlando and New York City. Ms. Thomas continues to volunteer with the Charlottesville City Schools Orchestra program and travel with the CHSO.