Emilija Kortus was born in 1994 in Toronto, Canada. Growing up in Belgrade, Serbia, she began playing the violin at the age of 5. She won 1st prizes at the State Competitions: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, becoming the laureate in 2010. In 2009, she won the 1st prize of the First national competition of young violinists, „Société General Serbia“.

Aged 16, she was officially a student of The Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade. In august 2011, 2012 and 2013 she took part in “The International Holland Music Sessions”, working with professors David Takeno, Krzysztof Wegrzyn and György Pauk in Bergen, Netherlands.
Graduating her bachelor degree in 2014, she decided to continue her studies in Leipzig, Germany, coming to work with Carolin Widmann. In 2018 she finishes her Master studies, but continues to work with Carolin for another three years of the "Meisterklassenexamen" (Artist degree-Doctorate) at the University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig, being one of the youngest to have enrolled to this study programme.

Since 2016 she is a member of the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra Leipzig (mko-leipzig), performing throughout Europe.Her Trio (2017-2020), the 'Max Klinger' piano trio (piano - Hyelee Kang, cello - Timothy Hopkins), took part at the HARMOS Festival in Porto, and in the Houston Tour organised by the HMT Leipzig and the Shepherd School of Music, both in 2018. In 2018 she was supported by the Foundation "L'Abri". Since november 2018 until end of 2020 she was an Intern/Academist (Stipendiat) of the chamber orchestra Kammerakademie Potsdam.

After Graduating the Meisterklassenexamen Studies in Leipzig in 2021, she took part at the international competition ARD in Munich. Soon thereafter she was invited to play at the Chamber Music Festival in Leipzig, „Conspirito Leipzig“, where she performed with Antje Weithaas, Pauline Sachse, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker and others. Emilija enjoys an active Chamber Music Career, performing since many years with the following ensembles: Berolina Ensemble, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Geneva Camerata, Orbis Quartett, Kölner Akademie. Since 2021 she performs regularly as concertmaster of
Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra Leipzig. In 2022 she was awarded funding from „Neustart Kultur Deutschland“ for her first Solo CD Recording, for which she, amongst other pieces,