Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (5 June 1646 – 26 July 1684) was an Italian philosopher of noble descent, who was one of the first women to receive an academic degree from a university and in 1678 she became the first woman in the world to receive a Ph.D. degree.  Elena was considered to be an expert musician. In addition to mastering the sciblis of her time—which means she mastered almost the entire body of knowledge—Elena mastered the harpsichord, the clavichord, the harp, and the violin. Her skills were shown by the music that she composed in her lifetime. She was a member of various academies and was esteemed throughout Europe for her attainments and virtues. 

LUDOVICA BURTONE – Ludovica Burtone has performed worldwide as both a soloist and chamber musician. Based in New York City, she finds herself in a multitude of musical settings. Classically trained with a master of arts in violin performance from “Conservatorio Tomadini” in Italy, and a postgrad from Barcelona’s “Liceu”, Ludovica has worked with several European orchestras for over 9 years, including the Orchestra Mitteleuropa and the Orchestra Teatro Lirico di Trieste, before moving to the United States. After receiving a diploma in jazz composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, she worked with musicians like Dave Douglas, Kneebody, Susana Baca, Danilo Perez, Jon Batiste, Camila Meza, A. R. Rahman, Arijit Singh, Dream Theater, and Alejandro Sanz. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Boston Opera House, The Jazz Standard, Mezzrow Jazz Club, Café Carlyle, and National Sawdust, to mention a few. Ludovica has extensive experience in teaching and studio recording in orchestral, chamber koimusic, improvisational, television and film scoring sessions, doubling also on viola. She regularly performs with her ensembles “Ludovica Burtone Sparks”, for which she writes original music; and her string quartet “O Kwarteto”, an ensemble devoted to the performance of Brazilian music not originally written for the instrumentation. She is a member of the Michael Leonhart Jazz Orchestra at the Jazz Standard and of the band Tredici Bacci, she performs with Vanisha Gould and the Storyteller, she collaborates with Camila Meza and the Nectar Orchestra for the recording of NPR: Jazz Night in America, and she has been working with Oscar and Grammy winner Jon Batiste for his performances and recordings. As a composer and arranger, she is now working on a book of string arrangements of Brazilian music.

SARAH EDKINS (Set Design) Since the late 80’s, she has been collaborating with experimental theater makers, primarily in the New York area.   She is interested in work that crosses boundaries, both physical and psychological. She has been collaborating with KIT for years beginning with designing the set for “Alienation”, a series of three shows presented in rotation by KIT at Cherry Lane Theater. For further info please visit her website www.SarahEdkinsDesign.com.