Biography

Emilija Kortus is a Canadian-born violinist of Serbian heritage based in Berlin. She performs regularly across Europe as a chamber musician, soloist, and concertmaster.

Emilija began studying violin at the age of five and soon emerged as one of the most distinctive young voices of her generation in Serbia, winning first prizes in all major national competitions and the laureate title in 2010. Early appearances as a soloist and chamber musician included a recital cycle at the Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, where she received the Stanojlo-Rajičić Prize for the best concert of the season.

Her strong affinity for contemporary and 20th-century repertoire has led to close collaborations with composers and numerous premieres, among them John Cage’s Cheap Imitation (Serbian premiere). She also recorded Martin Sturm’s Dialog for solo violin, premiered live in 2024 as part of a tribute to Hans Joachim Hespos in Delmenhorst.

Emilija has a deep love of the Baroque violin, exploring its expressive possibilities through historical instruments and performance practice. She has worked extensively with specialists such as Sergio Azzolini and Dorothee Oberlinger and has performed with distinguished ensembles including Il Pomo d’Oro and Armonia Atenea.

She studied in Belgrade, Leipzig, and Zurich, shaping her musical voice with Maria Spengler, Carolin Widmann, and Ilya Gringolts. Further inspiration came from masterclasses and academies such as The International Holland Music Sessions, working closely with artists including Antje Weithaas, David Takeno, and Nemanja Radulović.

Since 2016, Emilija has been a member of the Mendelssohn Kammerorchester Leipzig under the direction of Peter Bruns, with which she performs regularly in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and beyond. As concertmaster and section leader, she has appeared alongside artists such as Reinhold Friedrich, Dorothee Oberlinger, and Ragna Schirmer, contributing to acclaimed recordings. In chamber settings, she collaborated with Antje Weithaas, Pauline Sachse, and Tobias Feldmann, among others.

Her orchestral experience includes engagements with the Kammerakademie Potsdam, Münchener Kammerorchester, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and hr-Sinfonieorchester, where she holds a temporary contract in the first violin section for the 2025/26 season. She was a scholarship holder of the Kammerakademie Potsdam’s two-year academy, has performed with the Estonian Festival Orchestra under Paavo Järvi, and regularly appears in venues such as the Kleine Tonhalle Zurich.

In 2025, Emilija released her debut solo recording Dialogues on Prospero Classical, supported by Neustart Kultur Germany, a milestone in her discography.

From 2020 to 2024, she performed on a Francesco Ruggieri violin (1680), on loan from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig, an experience that profoundly shaped her sound ideal and sense of color. She continues to explore both historical and modern instruments in search of a palette that serves classical repertoire and new music with equal depth.