Will Copeland (b. 1998) is a Japanese-American musician specializing in violin music before 1700. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area before pursuing degrees in modern and early violin at Curtis and Juilliard, where he is writing his dissertation on the earliest surviving violin music, a set of virtuosic dance music from Tudor England. On the violin, Will has led a variety of ensembles from New York to Tijuana in performances of underrepresented repertoire from the 16th century to today, from modern-day premieres of early repertoire, to new music written for period instruments.
He also enjoys playing violin-shaped objects like the alto/tenor viola, lira da braccio, and viola d’amore, and frequently composes, reconstructs, arranges, and transcribes early music for projects by his ensembles and others. When he is not reading for school or for pleasure, you can find him on one of his extremely long walks.