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Rowan Collins and Travis Yoon

Rowan Collins and Travis Yoon were friends and musical collaborators at Juilliard. Rowan mentored Travis from his first semester, recognized his ability early, and made room in her practice schedule to work with him on bowings, tempos, and arrangements. After his death, she was among the musicians who recorded his arrangements as a gift to the Yoon family.

Musical Mentorship

Travis entered Juilliard in fall 2023, two years after Rowan. She stayed late to work with him and spent time on residence-hall couches discussing bowings and tempos. Their collaboration included arrangement development and ensemble performance.

Both musicians had encountered gendered assumptions about who belonged with a violin. Rowan had been told that the instrument was not for someone like her, while Travis had been told that he did not belong in its performance space. That shared experience shaped a connection they did not need to explain in full.

December 2024

When Travis was absent from Meredith Willson Residence Hall for four days in December 2024, Rowan waited without knowing whether he was alive. After the four days, she asked Ezra for the only information she needed: “Is he alive.” Tyler held Rowan in the residence-hall corridor when she broke down under the strain of waiting.

Main article: Travis Yoon’s Four-Day Absence (December 2024) - Event

Funeral and New York Memorial

After Travis’s death in August 2025, Ezra paid for Rowan and Tyler to fly from New York to Evanston for the funeral. At Ezra’s request, they and Travis’s theory study group later participated in the New York City memorial.

Main article: Funeral and Memorials for Travis Yoon (2025)

Posthumous Recording

Travis composed and arranged ‘’이어받은 선율’‘, and Ezra served as his notation scribe during treatment before coordinating the posthumous release through the Fifth Bar Collective. Rowan’s role was distinct: she performed on the recording of Travis’s arrangements as a gift to the Yoon family.

Relationships Friendships Juilliard Travis Yoon