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Cellist Jacqueline Ultan and flutist Julie Johnson are conservatory-trained musicians with classical backgrounds who have forged paths in exploratory contemporary music. Both busy with a variety of projects, Ultan is chiefly known for her work in the chamber group Jelloslave and Saltee, while Johnson is building a career in avant garde folk through her band, the No Accounts. In this interview, Ultan and Johnson discuss the vision and compulsion to turn away from traditional careers in classical music and how they see younger musicians doing the same.

This Saturday, the pair are performing separately in an evening dubbed Baroque to Beatboxing, at MacPhail Center for Music.

Pictured: Jacqueline Ultan and Julie Johnson