Rameau & the Art of Dance
Guest artists
Robert Mealy
Guest Director & violinist
Robert Mealy is one of America’s most prominent Baroque violinists. The New York Times commented that “Mr. Mealy seems to foster excellence wherever he goes;” the New Yorker has called him “New York’s world-class early music violinist.” Mr. Mealy began exploring early music in high school, first with the collegium of UC Berkeley and then at the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied harpsichord and baroque violin. While still an undergraduate at Harvard College, he was asked to join the Canadian baroque orchestra Tafelmusik; after graduating, he began to perform with Les Arts Florissants. Since then, he has recorded and toured with a wide range of distinguished early music ensembles both in America and Europe, and led orchestras for Masaaki Suzuki, William Christie, Andrew Parrott, Paul Agnew, Nicholas McGegan, and Helmuth Rilling, among many others. As Orchestra Director for the Boston Early Music Festival, he has led the BEMF orchestra in festival productions, international tours, and Grammy-award-winning recordings for over a decade. In New York City, he is principal concertmaster at Trinity Wall Street, where he has led all of Bach’s cantatas and many Handel oratorios. A devoted chamber musician, he co-directs Quicksilver, an ensemble exploring the virtuosic music of the seventeenth century. Their recordings and festival appearances have delighted audiences across America. In 2018 he made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall. He has appeared at international music festivals from Berkeley to Belgrade and from Melbourne to Edinburgh, and is a regularly featured artist at Les Jardins de William Christie.
Caroline Copeland
Dancer
Caroline Copeland is an embodied dance historian, choreographer, and educator. In the field of early ballet she has performed in over 70 productions and has 50 choreographic credits in film, opera, theatre, and concert dance. Caroline has worked with prestigious festivals and performing institutions across the US and Europe, including the Grammy-award winning Boston Early Music Festival and the New York Baroque Dance Company. Appearances include performances at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Drottningholm Palace in Sweden, The International Handel Festival in Göttingen, Germany, and the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music in Austria. Her creative collaborations in opera and concert dance include projects with Musica Angelica, Cantata Profana, Merz Trio, and Juilliard415 and her choreography has been presented at Alice Tully Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Theater, and Philipzaal Den Haag. Caroline is currently on the dance faculties of Hofstra University and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance and a guest lecturer for Juilliard’s Historical Performance program. She received a BA in Dance at Goucher College and MFA in Dance at Sarah Lawrence College.
Julian Donahue
Dancer
Julian Donahue is a choreographer and dancer based in Brooklyn. Julian danced with New York Theatre Ballet from 2018–2024, performing masterworks by Antony Tudor, Merce Cunningham, Jerome Robbins, José Limón, and many others. Julian started dancing with Ellen Cornfield in October 2024. Julian also specializes in baroque, renaissance, and folk dance forms, performing with New York Baroque Dance Company and Boston Early Music Festival. He has performed baroque dance at Lincoln Center and at the Kennedy Center Julian was recently awarded a 2025 Support for Artists Grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. His choreography has been presented at the Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, Battery Dance Festival, Florence Gould Hall, Judson Church, Lincoln Center, and more. In April 2025, Julian’s one man show With Violets in Her Lap premiered at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center. juliandonahuedance.com
Performers
Caroline Copeland and Julian Donahue, dancers
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra with Juilliard415
Directed by Robert Mealy
Program
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Generously supported by Caroline, Sharon and Janet Walker, Founders of the Artistic Innovation Fund
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