Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Emma Milian holds a Master’s degree in Violin Performance from the University of North Texas College of Music and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance, a certificate in Arts Leadership, and a certificate in Performance Practice. Emma is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Violin with the Juilliard Historical Performance program.

Emma is a violinist with a wide variety of musical interests including contemporary works and early music. As a soloist, she has been featured with the UNT Baroque Orchestra, and recently recorded composer Charles Peck’s work for solo violin, Filament, which will be released soon. As an ensemble musician, she has performed in the Rochester Early Music Festival with the Eastman Collegium, and served as concertmaster in the Eastman Bach Cantata series, Eastman Philharmonia, and the Empire Film and Media Ensemble. In the summer of 2024, she toured Brazil with the UNT Fantasmi Ensemble. She has also been a member of the Dallas Bach Society orchestra and played on their recently released album recording of Handel’s Messiah, as well as the Saint John’s Passion album which will be released soon. In addition to her work in Rochester and Dallas, Emma has performed in many venues across New York City, including Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Dimenna Center for Classical Music, Symphony Space, and the National Arts Club

Andrew Bortvin is a versatile keyboardist based in Baltimore and NYC. His primary teachers include Peter Sykes, Richard Stone, and Adam Pearl. He has performed in festivals and workshops such as the San Francisco Early Music Society’s Baroque Workshop, St. Andrew’s Baroque Performance Course, the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, and Amherst Early Music Academy. Andrew performs extensively throughout the east coast with the Baltimore Baroque Band, Peabody Renaissance Ensemble, and in opera and chamber music ensembles. Outside of early music, Andrew is earning his PhD at Johns Hopkins in computational biology.

With equal passions for early and new music, Rachel Smith is a freelance musician, a substitute teacher at Chicago Public Schools, an arts administrator and a full-time hustler based in Chicago and Rochester, NY. She appears regularly as a violist with the Camerata Chicago orchestra and a baroque violinist with Martin David’s Bella Voce Sinfonia. Most recently, she joined the Concert Opera of Greater Chicago for their first opera with a full orchestral ensemble. She is the director of Ensemble Meliora, which recently performed their debut project in June at the Boston Early Music Festival’s Fringe Concert Series. Rachel holds a BM in viola performance and a Certificate of Achievement in Performance Practice from the Eastman School of Music, and is a recent alum of the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto. She was a member of Eastman’s Musica Nova ensemble, where she worked with conductors Georgia Mills, Luke Poeppel, and Brad Lubman. She is also a member of the 2024 Bang on a Can Summer Festival fellowship cohort, where she worked alongside musicians and composers such as David Lang, Sahara von Hattenberger, Jack Beal, Vashawn Aurora, Ruben Høgh, and many more. Rachel enjoys performing both on violin and viola in many different styles, and loves the collaboration between colleagues for old music, new music, and everything in between! She performs on a late 18th-century German violin, labeled Galini.

James Marshall joined the viola section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2023, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, with a Certificate of Advanced Achievement in Early Music. Although primarily a violist, James is also an avid performer on Baroque violin and viola d’amore, and was the leader of Eastman’s Collegium Musicum ensemble for three years. James has received primary early music studies from Eastman Professors Paul O’Dette, Christel Thielmann, and Roger Freitas, as well as additional studies with Cynthia Roberts and Julie Andrijeski. He has performed in Rochester with Publick Musick and Pegasus Early Music, and at recent festivals including the American Bach Soloists Academy, Boston Early Music Festival Fringe, Berwick Academy (Oregon Bach Festival), and Baroque Performance Institute (Oberlin). For today’s program, James is playing a violin by Joseph Rausch, c. 1770, and a Jay Haide viola, 2017, after Maggini.

Grace Mockus is a graduate student at The Juilliard School, where she is equally at home in modern and historical performance practices. She holds a BM in Cello Performance, with a minor in Performing Arts Management and Entrepreneurship, from the University of Michigan. Grace has performed and studied at numerous festivals, including Orford Musique, the Oregon Bach Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, American Bach Soloists Academy, the Smithsonian Academy, and in fellowships with the Chautauqua Festival Orchestra and ARTEK early music ensemble. Grace has also performed with ensembles such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, and the Chicago Philharmonic. She is a core member of the West Michigan Symphony and Ensemble Meliora. Grace performs on an anonymous English cello of the Kennedy School, ca. 1800, labeled “Jacobus Stainer”, and a seven-string bass viol by Linda Shortridge, 1979.

Hailed for her “natural musicianship, boundless musicality, and genuine joy for music” (EMW, ’25), Juliana Kauls-Kilcoyne is a Russian-American violist based in New York City. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in viola performance from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Grammy Award-winning violist Masumi Per Rostad. While at Eastman, she also completed an Advanced Performer’s Certificate in Early Music after discovering her true passion: historical performance. She studied under the mentorship of Paul O’Dette, Christel Thielmann, and Brandon Chui (Tafelmusik).

Juliana has appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra, String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Ver Sacrum Consort, and a variety of NYC opera companies and early music ensembles. At Eastman, she served as principal violist of Collegium Musicum and performed with the Eastman Philharmonia. In 2023, she was featured in the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concerts and selected for the American Bach Soloists Academy, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, and Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute. Performance highlights include world premieres of works by Anthony Davis and Libby Larsen, and masterclasses with Yo-Yo Ma, Kenneth Slowik, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Jeffrey Irvine, and Matthew Lipman.

Ariel Walton is a passionate violonist who believes music has the power to uplift the spirit. With a blend of precision and curiosity, she brings the deep voice of the bass to life, offering both foundation and expressive depth within any ensemble. Her love for early music began through a serendipitous opportunity at the Eastman School of Music’s Collegium Musicum. When the regular bassist was unavailable one semester, Ariel stepped in and was captivated by the ensemble’s collaborative spirit. This experience eventually led to the partnerships that inspired the creation of the Meliora Ensemble.

Ariel went on to study at Juilliard’s Historical Performance program, where collaborations with renowned artists including Rhiannon Giddens, Masaaki Suzuki, and Lionel Meunier shaped her artistry. A defining moment came when she chose to pause her studies to work with violone specialist Margaret Urquhart at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. This mentorship profoundly influenced her approach to historically informed performance and basso continuo. Under Professor Urquhart’s guidance, Ariel also became principal bassist of the Theresia Orchestra, gaining invaluable performance experience and professional skills.

After graduating from Juilliard in May, Ariel returned to The Hague as a contract student to continue her studies with Professor Urquhart. She also recently joined the Paris-based orchestra Insula Camerata. With a growing focus on the violone, Ariel aims to explore its expressive possibilities within the broader landscape of early music performance.