Emily Talley is in her 19th year of teaching. In years leading up to her appointment at Ohio University she served as Director of Bands for Wellston City Schools, Assistant Director of Athletic Bands at Ohio University, and as a band director at Canandaigua Middle School in Canandaigua, NY, Asheville High School in Asheville, NC, and Hunter Huss High School in Gastonia, NC. Her bands have routinely earned high honors including earning Superior ratings at OMEA Large Group, NC Music Performance Adjudication, performing at the 2012 Presidential Inaugural Parade, performing at the 75th Anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Waikiki, Hawaii, and qualifying for OMEA State Finals. Her high school clarinet choirs have also performed at the Vandoren Clarinet Choir Festival at the University of South Alabama, and the NAfME National Conference. In her time as an educator, she has been awarded with the Distinguished Educators Award from Yale University, and the Ronald P. Socciarelli Award from the Marching 110 at Ohio University. She has also presented on various topics for Ohio University's Collegiate National Association for Music Educators, Women Band Directors International, Women Banding Together, and Ohio University's Collegiate American Choral Directors Association. She is currently serving as President-Elect for OMEA District 17 and teaches adjunct clarinet lessons at Marietta College. 

Emily Talley holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education, a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance degrees from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC, and a Master of Arts Administration in Music Leadership from Ohio University. She is currently working on her PhD through Ohio University. 

In addition to her work as a band director, Mrs. Talley also continues to be an avid performer. She is currently a member of the Cincinnati Wind Band and the Athens Community Jazz Band. In years past she has performed with the World Adult Wind Orchestra Project in Schladming, Austria, and the InterHarmony Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy. She has also been a featured soloist with several high school and community bands and has served as a woodwind doubler for numerous musicals in NC, NY, and OH.