Emily Gates

PERFORMING ARTS & VOCAL EDUCATOR

For more than 40 years, Emily Gates has dedicated her life to helping students grow through music and the performing arts. Working with students across grades K–12, she taught choir, band, classroom music, musical theater, jazz choir, and jazz band, inspiring generations of young performers to build confidence, form lasting friendships, and experience the power of the arts.

During her career, Emily’s ensembles participated in numerous festivals and traveled to New York City, Canada, and Australia. Her contributions to education and the arts have been recognized with Teacher of the Year honors in both Novato and Marin County, a Golden Bell Award, and induction into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.

Although retired from the classroom, Emily remains an active and deeply valued leader within San Marin Performing Arts. She continues to volunteer with the choir and musical theater programs, supports students and faculty, and serves on the Music Boosters board. The Emily Gates Performing Arts Center was named in recognition of her extraordinary dedication to San Marin and the generations of students she has inspired since 1980.

Her hopes for students remain as clear today as they were throughout her years in the classroom: “My goal for our choir students: Read, sing, and perform music in many styles and genres. Make great friends and become more self confident. Make many happy memories with other music department students.”