Emerging Artists Showcase

Presenting the rising stars of early music and historical performance since 2018.

The Emerging Artists Showcase has been presented at early-music festivals in Berkeley, CA, Bloomington, IN, and Boston, MA, and virtually through EMA’s digital platforms. In 2023, the Showcase became a central element of the annual EMA Summit.

2026 Showcase, Seattle

Friday, October 23 at 7:30pm in Seattle, WA as part of the 2026 EMA Summit.

2026 Emerging Artists Showcase Participants

Ensemble Ursa Major

Ensemble Ursa Major is an ensemble focusing on music before 1600. Members Leah Weitzner, Ellis Reyes Montes, and Namgon Lee founded the ensemble in 2022 while pursuing post-graduate degrees in musicology and historical performance at McGill University. Ensemble Ursa Major was a featured ensemble in Les Reverdies de Montréal’s Journées Médiévales 2023 and a recipient of the 2024 Early Music America’s Encouragement Award.

Ensemble Ursa Major’s mission is to celebrate the beauty of musicking before 1600. We emphasize creative interpretation by experimenting with various historical techniques while discovering under recognized composers and music.

Pandora Consort

The Pandora Consort is an early-music ensemble dedicated to reimagining classical music performance by integrating multimedia, interactive elements, and exploring historically under-represented repertoire featuring Kendra Comstock, Angie Tyler, and Gina Marie Falk,

Pandora Consort was formed with the mission of sharing historical music and stories that uplift historically marginalized composers, particularly early female composers, that are not often performed. Pandora Consort is committed to crafting performances that push the boundaries of the traditional Classical concert
format and provide greater accessibility to new audiences, whether through multimedia, interactive performance, multi-genre collaboration, and performing in unconventional spaces.

Quartet Novalis

Founded in 2024 as the Academy Quartet at the Carmel Bach Festival, Quartet Novalis is a period- performance ensemble based in New York City. Made up of Eliana Estrada, Ela Kodžas, Annemarie Schubert, and Luka Stefanović, the group seeks to bring a fresh perspective to 18th and 19th century string quartet repertoire by uncovering old concepts of sound, rhetoric, and musical understanding while also reshaping audience expectations of the string quartet. The members of Quartet Novalis have an attitude of curiosity and exploration, thinking of themselves as musical time travelers. By performing on historically-appropriate instruments and engaging historical methods, the group draws out subtle and highly nuanced textures and impressions while breathing life into repertoire that has fallen by the wayside.

Showcase Artists receive:

  • A featured public performance during the annual EMA Summit
  • Complimentary registration for the EMA Summit
  • Travel/Lodging Assistance and honoraria (details below)
  • A high-quality video recording of their live Showcase performance
  • Audio recordings from the Showcase are regularly included on the radio programs of our partners Harmonia Early Music (syndicated internationally) and Young Artists Showcase (WQXR, New York City)

All required materials MUST be submitted via the application form. Require materials listed below.

Application closed Sunday, May 3, 2026

We strongly encourage all applicants to submit your application at least ONE WEEK prior to the deadline in case there are any issues with your application, so we can resolve them in a timely manner before the deadline.

Those selected for the Emerging Artists Showcase will be notified by the end of June 2026.

Questions: specialprojetcs@earlymusicamerica.org

  • The applicant must be a current member of EMA, with a Personal, Student, Household, or Organization membership. Please ensure your membership is current at the time of submission.
    • Students may redeem a one-year complimentary membership once during their course of study. After that, student membership is only $35.
  • “Emerging Artists” means artists of any age who have not otherwise performed regularly in major festivals or concert series.
  • No individual performer may be included in more than one Emerging Artists Showcase application (e.g. Jane Smith is a member of Ensemble A and Ensemble B. Only one of the ensembles may apply with her as a member. Likewise, if Ensemble A applies, Jane may not apply separately).
  • All applicants must be residents of North or South America. Citizenship is not required.
  • Although the term “early music” is understood in different ways, for the purpose of this Showcase, it involves the following criteria:
    • Attention must be given to matters of historical performance practice.
    • Applicants are expected to perform with period instruments.
    • Past Showcase programs have typically featured repertoire composed before ca. 1820, however we welcome repertoire from later eras, so long as it meets the criteria above.
    • Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose programs that expand beyond the Western canon.
  • Artists who are a part of an ensemble under consideration for Young Performers Festival may apply separately for the Showcase, so long as they or their ensemble are not university sponsored. University-sponsored applicants should apply only for the Young Performers Festival (YPF).

Ensemble/Performer Information

  • Artist/Ensemble Name
  • Names of all artists to be featured in your Showcase program.
  • How long has the Artist/Ensemble been performing? Please include information about a representative past ensemble project – description or concert program is acceptable.
  • Short soloist/ensemble bio (for promotional material)
  • Artist/Ensemble mission/relationship with historical performance and period instruments (as applicable).
  • Brief description of how your group is emerging and how you see your future in the early music field
  • Title and description of your proposed 25-30 minute Showcase program. If your virtual presentation will include visual elements such as images, cartoons, original artwork, please describe them. (max. 500 words)

Performance recordings that meet the following requirements:

  • Live video performance recordings of the applicant – MAXIMUM of 20 minutes in length.
  • Submitted performance recordings must be no more than two years old.
  • Submitted performance recordings should be of the highest video quality possible.
  • Video recordings should be shared as Youtube links – videos may either be public or unlisted.
  • Recordings can be multiple short selections or one long selection.
  • Please submit a list of personnel represented in your recordings, and a list of the pieces performed. Recordings should reflect, as much as possible, the personnel indicated in your program proposal, meaning that each person in the proposal should have be reflected in a submitted recording.
  • Submission recordings may be of your proposed program, but it is not required.

Showcase Grant Payment Details (one required)

  • Check (Payee name, contact phone, mailing address for check)
  • Paypal (Payee email)
  • Zelle (Payee phone number or email address associated with Zelle account. USA only.)

A panel of judges designated by EMA will assess all applications on the following three criteria categories.

  • Technical proficiency
    • Artistic quality
    • Ensemble cohesion/chamber music skills
    • Awareness of and attention to historical performance
  • Audience Engagement
    • How do you represent yourself as an artist?
    • How are you communicating the music beyond playing the notes in a historically informed way?
  • Innovation in presentation and/or repertoire
    • Creativity and originality using available resources
    • New and attainable ideas – is the size of the proposed project realistically attainable within the three month preparation and production period?
    • Are you conducting new research related to the project?
    • Lecture components should account for no more than 25% of the final project time. The focus should remain on the performance of the music.

Selections will be based on the strength of the proposal and the level of artistry displayed in recorded submissions.

All applications will receive feedback from the judging panel, regardless of the success of their application. Accepted ensembles may receive recommendations from the panel to be incorporated into their final product. 

Selected Showcase artists will receive the following financial assistance:

  • $500 honorarium per artist, maximum of 6 artists
  • $1,500 travel/lodging assistance per application for artist/ensembles not residing in the Seattle area
  • Up to $300 airline assistance per artist for any oversized instruments that do not fit in an overhead compartment (Receipt required for reimbursement)

Example: A selected quartet (e.g. flute, violin, cello, and harpsichord) residing outside of the Seattle area would receive up to $3,800 in total: $2,000 in artist honoraria + $1,500 travel/lodging assistance + $300 airline assistance for the cellist.

2025 – Virtual EMA Summit
Ars Poetic
Charlotte Tang
COMTESSA

\2024 – EMA Summit, Cleveland
Amelia Sie
Duo CPE
Magadalena

2023 – EMA Summit, Boston
Marie Nadeau-Tremblay
Maryse Legault
The Fooles

2022 – Berkeley Festival & Exhibition and Virtual
AKOYA
Julia Bengtsson, dance & Rocío López Sánchez, cello
Duo Oriana
Patricía García Gil, fortepiano
Pauline Kempf, baroque violin
Ximenez Quartet

2021 – Virtual
Beneath a Tree – Baroque to Folk
Alice Chuaqui Baldwin, harpsichord
Filament Baroque
Monika Ruusma, harp & Héctor Alonso Torres, lute
Time Stands Still

2020 – Virtual
L.A. Camerata
Gili Loftus, fortepiano
Lyracle
Trobár

2019 – Bloomington Early Music Festival
Aperi Animam
Joyce Chen, harpsichord
Vincent Lauzer, recorder
Rezonance Baroque

2018 – Bloomington Early Music Festival
Costanoan Trio
Melisande McNabey, harpsichord
Adriana Ruiz Peña, soprano
Rumore Terribile
Voyage Sonique
Rachell Ellen Wong, baroque violin

2023 Showcase – EMA Summit, Boston
2022 Showcase – Virtual & Berkeley, CA
2021 Showcase – Virtual
2020 Showcase – Virtual
2019 Showcase – Bloomington, IN
2018 Showcase – Bloomington, IN
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