Melva Colter is a fourth-year anthropology major, Lemelson Anthropological Honors Program scholar, and recipient of the 2018 Renaissance Award from the UCLA Center for the Study of Women. She is also a classical musician who has performed as an instrumentalist and vocalist with a number of Los Angeles ensembles, including the UCLA Early Music Ensemble. As part of the Lemelson program, she is working with linguistic anthropologist Dr. Erin Debenport to develop her senior thesis on the culture and communication of early music ensembles in northern and southern California. She is exploring the ways in which these ensembles value egalitarianism, historically-informed performance practices, and the sharing of knowledge and innovation among professional and amateur musicians as part of a cultural revitalization movement that began in the 1960s and continues into the present. She plans to pursue graduate school in anthropology or ethnomusicology.