Emily Waggoner

 The sight and sound of the harp captivated Emily Waggoner even as a seven-year-old beginning student of Dorinne Yoder of Hidden Valley Harps in Escondido, CA. Creating stories through music shapes her everyday life as an educator and musician. She has served as a music faculty member for 20 years and was recently appointed Chair of the Division of Music in January 2026. Her coursework has included music and orchestral literature, collaborative arts, music entrepreneurship, chamber coaching, and harp. In 2023, Emily implemented the new student success program, Crescendo to Career, to support goal formation and career guidance through academic coaching and placements with alumni mentors. In 2024, she launched the growing Precollege Music at BJU, connecting over 200 precollege students to BJU faculty instruction. Outside of BJU, she works professionally as a principal symphony harpist and as the president of the local chapter of the American Harp Society. Her connections in the Greenville community have included adjunct appointments at Clemson University, Furman University, and the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. She has also volunteered with nonprofits as a musician, a crisis counselor, and a teaching artist in documentary songwriting for DocSong. Emily graduated from BJU in 2001, Converse University in 2006, and is currently ABD for a doctorate in music education. She and her husband, Jason, have five children: a college freshman at BJU and four children in the academy.