Bringing together their shared passion for chamber music and New York City's unmatched culinary arts scene, Founder Julia Villagra and Artistic Director James Austin Smith have created a vibrant concert series aimed at New York's dynamic generation of young music lovers. Julia, Tertulia’s founder, felt compelled to design a chamber music series that would attract her peers. After moving to New York in 2007, she immediately began to explore the city's dining scene. It was her interest in food and wine that served as inspiration for her decision to bring chamber music into restaurants. Her objective was clear: attract outstanding musicians by showing respect for the performance, and extend intermissions so people can enjoy eating, drinking, and socializing. Today, the New York Times calls on presenters "to observe her approach" in "luring the young and the restless to the charms of chamber music."

James, a NYC-based oboist praised for his "virtuosic" and "brilliant" performances by The New York Times, performs equal parts new and old music across the United States and around the world. In addition to serving as Tertulia's Artistic and Executive Director, James is an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Co-Principal Oboist of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Cygnus, and Decoda. He is a member of the Oboe and Chamber Music faculties of Stony Brook University and the Manhattan School of Music.

Both Julia and James were raised in musical families in Connecticut. They met in high school while playing in a youth orchestra and are thrilled to have reconnected in New York.