Violinist Alice Culin-Ellison is a versatile and passionate historical performer whose work spans more than four centuries of repertoire. Her dynamic artistry, scholarship, and leadership have made her a sought-after performer and director in the early music community.

Alice is a Co-Founder and Co-Director of Incantare, an innovative ensemble exploring the musical and cultural connections of underrepresented composers from the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. With its distinctive instrumentation—featuring violins and sackbuts—Incantare has been praised for its imaginative programming, stylistic depth, and historically informed interpretations.

Incantare’s acclaimed program, EXILE: Music of the Early Modern Jewish Diaspora, has been featured at academic and cultural institutions including Syracuse University, Rutgers University, the Center for Jewish History in New York City, University of Louisville,  University of Kentucky, and the Academy of Early Music in Michigan. Supported by the Kentucky Jewish Heritage Fund and the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research, EXILE explores the intersections of Jewish and non-Jewish communities in 17th-century Europe, blending storytelling, scholarship, and rich musical traditions.

In addition to EXILE, Incantare has presented thematic programs such as Il Furioso, a dialogue between Tintoretto and his daughter La Tintoretta, performed in collaboration with The Newberry Consort in Chicago, Illinois, and The Glories of Venice with Chatham Baroque in Pittsburgh. The ensemble has also delivered immersive explorations of music from the Thirty Years' War during a residency at Hamilton College, and the Musical Landscapes program as the Housewright Virtuoso Residency at Florida State University—both uncovering the political, cultural, and musical exchanges that shaped early modern Europe and the Americas.

In concertmaster and soloist roles, Alice most recently served as concertmaster for Kentucky Opera’s 2025 production of Rameau’s Pygmalion, directed by Stephen Stubbs. She has led and performed in productions of Gluck’s Orfeo, Handel’s Acis and Galatea, and Purcell’s King Arthur, and appeared in featured solo roles with Bourbon Baroque (Vivaldi Autumn, 2017), Louisville Ballet (Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante), and the Oregon Bach Festival (Vivaldi Summer, 2023).

Alice’s performance career includes regular collaborations with leading period ensembles across the United States, including Apollo’s Fire, The Newberry Consort, Chatham Baroque, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. She has also performed internationally in Canada, France, England, China, and Japan, and participated in festivals under the direction of Christophe Rousset, Christian Curnyn, Philippe Herreweghe, and Jeanne Lamon. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, she was Artistic Director and Concertmaster of Bourbon Baroque from 2017 to 2022, having been a core member since 2010. 

A committed educator and scholar, Alice has lectured on historical performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and led masterclasses at Valdosta State University and the University of Louisville. Her research focuses on 19th-century American string chamber music, with particular interest in repertoire from Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley. Her lecture-recitals include 19th-Century American String Chamber Music: From Heinrich to Sousa and Musical Possibilities: The Rise of Affective Violin Fingerings.

Alice holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Historical Performance from Case Western Reserve University, where she studied with Dr. Julie Andrijeski. She also earned degrees from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music (M.M. in Early Music, with Stanley Ritchie) and the University of Michigan (B.M. in Violin Performance, summa cum laude, with Aaron Berofsky). She performs on a 2016 Jason Viseltear baroque violin, using a selection of bows by Harry Grabenstein, Louis Bégin, Michelle Speller, and Andrew Dipper.

Alice’s discography includes The Colorful Telemann with Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra (Naxos), Fair and Princely Branches with The Queen’s Rebels Band (Queen’s Rebels), and Altissima: Works for High Baroque Trumpet with Josh Cohen, trumpet (Centaur Records).

When not pursuing her musical passions, Alice enjoys hiking, backpacking, and general adventuring in her new home state of Oregon.