Three Rochester musicians now based in New York City – two of them Hochstein alums! – returned to Rochester for a homecoming of sorts on Live from Hochstein on Wednesday, November 29. The “Songs from Childhood” program featured violinists Epongue Ekille and Ela Kodžas and cellist Allen Maracle, with Bonnie Choi on harpsichord, playing baroque music drawn from the Suzuki Violin Method, but played on historic instruments.
Epongue, Ela, and Allen are all Rochesterians now living in New York City playing early music and see each other quite often. Epongue studied music at Hochstein from age 4 through high school. She took individual violin lessons, was in a piano trio, won multiple Merit Scholarships, and received a Hochstein Honors Certificate. In 2022, she returned to perform a solo at the Hochstein Gala. A graduate of Yale with degrees in Environmental Management and Justice, she is still very active with her music, performing at the Carmel Bach Festival, on the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and with other ensembles in New York City and beyond. Upcoming engagements include Carnegie Hall performances with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Daniil Trifonov, and with the baroque ensemble Twelfth Night for their Hall debut.
Allen studied cello at Hochstein with Kathy Kemp. He is now a baroque cellist and music educator based in New York City. He completed his undergraduate studies at SUNY Fredonia, earning bachelor of music degrees in music education and cello performance, and has a master of music degree in historical performance from Boston University. He is currently studying for a graduate diploma in historical performance at The Juilliard School. He performs community outreach concerts around New York City, playing works of the baroque and early classical eras on period instruments.
Also originally from Rochester, historical violinist Ela Kodžas enjoys a dynamic career as a collaborator and performer across the United States. She is an alumna of UCLA and the Eastman School of Music and currently resides in New York City, where she is pursuing a Master of Music in baroque violin performance at The Juilliard School. She has performed with Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Publick Musick, American Bach Soloists Academy, and Juilliard415.
Joining them for this concert was harpsichordist and pianist Bonnie Choi, who frequently performs in New York State and Asia and currently teaches at Nazareth University.
WXXI Classical’s Mona Seghatoleslami hosted the concert, which was broadcast live. You can hear an encore broadcast of Live from Hochstein today at 10 pm on WXXI Classical.