Eager to honor and explore a variety of musical traditions, Serbian-American violinist, Ela Kodžas, graduated as a Pi Kappa Lambda Scholar from the Eastman School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance with High Distinction under the tutelage of Renée Jolles. She was also the only student in her graduating year to receive a Certificate of Achievement in Performance Practice, under the guidance of Cynthia Roberts, Paul O’Dette, and Christel Thielmann.

Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Music in Violin Performance under the tutelage of Movses Pogossian and Varty Manouelian at the University of California at Los Angeles, where she is the Teaching Assistant for the Early Music Ensemble and was previously a Teaching Assistant in String Chamber Music. Additionally, Kodžas is also a member of the VEM Ensemble, which, under the tutelage of Movses Pogossian, “endeavors to raise awareness and celebrate the richness and diversity of the Armenian musical tradition” (VEM Ensemble, UCLA).

Kodžas’ interest in historical performance has led her to study with Amandine Beyer, Enrico Gatti, Robert Mealy, Bruce Dickey, and Julia Wedman. Her playing has been featured in the Rochester Early Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Series, and the Berkeley Early Music Festival Fringe Series, and she has performed with Publick Musick (Rochester, NY), LA Camerata (Los Angeles, CA) and Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra (Long Beach, CA). She is a recipient of an Early Music America Summer Scholarship (2022).