Vocal Workshops
Vocal Boot Camp - Chicago
In 2020, our 5th year, Roberta and I recognized the limitations of singing in public - so we are going VIRTUAL! Our June camps were a huge success and included all the usual things like: singing three different songs in three different styles, basic musicianship skills, vocal technique, warm-up exercises and performance tips. However, in order to keep our virtual world exciting, we added a new element: Collaborative Songwriting! With help from returning staff member, Brandon Pisano, and new staff addition Alex Newkirk, we were able to offer students input from four professional vocalists and insights into songwriting. The original songs, composed by the boot camp participants, will be available on several online platforms as well as here. 2 more workshops in July, but one is already full and the other is quickly closing. Email Ellen for more information!
TEACHING
Ellen is passionate about teaching. In the last 20 years, she has taught in a variety of settings and has worked with students from ages 10 to 70. Ellen's favorite part of teaching is connecting different generations with each other through Music. Whether she is working one-on-one in her private studio, in a classroom or as a Guest Artist/Clinician, she shares her passion for Music.
Hartland Music Senior Recital 2016
Ellen has been studying private voice since the age of 16, where she began learning Classical technique with esteemed instructor and long-time Milwaukee Symphony Chorus member Nancy McKinley Ehlinger. She went on to the University of Minnesota, where she studied privately with Dr. Clifton Ware, author of several pedagogical offerings as well as "Adventures in Singing," which is currently in it's 4th Edition. Ellen continues to teach traditional technique, from early students to advanced collegiate students, in her instruction of all styles from Musical Theater to Jazz to Rock/Pop.
Ellen has been a part of the Columbia College Chicago Music Department faculty since 2007, teaching Music Theory, Jazz/Pop Choir, Music Prep, Techniques in Singing and also serves as a Private Voice Instructor. Ellen has also worked as a Private Instructor at the Waukesha Conservatory of Music (Hartland Music) since 2006, teaching all ages and styles. Her students have gone on to thrive in top college Performing programs at schools like University of Minnesota, Loyola University in Chicago and Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Ellen has been a part of the Columbia College Chicago Music Department faculty since 2007, teaching Music Theory, Jazz/Pop Choir, Music Prep, Techniques in Singing and also serves as a Private Voice Instructor. Ellen has also worked as a Private Instructor at the Waukesha Conservatory of Music (Hartland Music) since 2006, teaching all ages and styles. Her students have gone on to thrive in top college Performing programs at schools like University of Minnesota, Loyola University in Chicago and Berklee College of Music in Boston.
CLINICS & WORKSHOPS
Ellen has teamed up with wonderful colleagues to create some wonderful "Boot Camp" experiences in Milwaukee and Chicago and plans to continue to work with students of all ages in all musical genres. Workshops, classes and private lessons are all formats that Ellen is comfortable working in and she believes that every student deserves a unique learning experience. If you're more comfortable in a group, then Ellen provides workshops and clinics year round to suit your needs. If you really want the intimacy of a one-on-one voice lesson, then you will learn proper technique, style and vocal placement concepts in whatever genre you choose.
“Thank you Ellen for serving as clinician and guest artist. I really appreciate your musicianship and your consummate skills as an educator; you made our entire spring concert a success with your contributions and leadership!” –Allen Redford, Highland Community College
As a Guest Artist and Clinician, Ellen has been an adjudicator at the Jazz On The Rock Vocal Jazz Festival in Whitewater, WI and the Best of Iowa Vocal Jazz Championships in Des Moines, IA. She also worked with high school and collegiate programs at University of IL - Champaign/Urbana, Terra State Community College in Ohio, Highland Community College in IL, Arrowhead High School, Grafton High School and Whitefish Bay High School in WI. She also co-presented a Vocal Jazz session at the 2011 Ohio Music Educators Convention. She was a long-time member of the former International Association of Jazz Educators and is now a member of the Jazz Education Network (JEN.)
VOCAL JAZZ
Ellen can provide workshops to heighten your students’ Vocal Jazz awareness and Aural abilities. Over the last 20 years, Ellen has a strong background in singing vocal jazz and close-voice harmony and also served on the faculty of the Phil Mattson Vocal/Choral Summer workshops as well as the Western Michigan University Summer Vocal Workshop with Steve Zegree. Ellen was also a former director of the Columbia College Chicago Jazz/ Pop Choir. Ellen has a variety of exercises to help you work with your group from the most intermediate to the most advanced level of singing.
Ellen has been amazed at the demand for good, accessible vocal jazz literature. She has been thrilled to work in several Milwaukee area schools as a vocal jazz consultant and clinician and has over 200 arrangements in her personal library. Ellen can help put you in contact with many up and coming as well as established arrangers and can help you find the right literature for your group. The most important thing a music teacher can do is provide the right opportunity for students to learn and understand Vocal Jazz through literature that is accessible and still true to the art form. It is Ellen’s belief that this initial exposure is crucial in creating the audiences of the future, just as it will help inspire the jazz musicians of the future. One cannot exist without the other.
Ellen is proud to have been a Voice Coach to award-winning, Waukesha, WI native, quadruplet Barbershoppers: Vintage Mix Quartet. This amazing group of young adults tours regularly and was awarded the Silver Medal in the BING International Barbershop Competition in Germany in April of 2018. They were one of two groups representing the United States in the competition.
Ellen can provide workshops to heighten your students’ Vocal Jazz awareness and Aural abilities. Over the last 20 years, Ellen has a strong background in singing vocal jazz and close-voice harmony and also served on the faculty of the Phil Mattson Vocal/Choral Summer workshops as well as the Western Michigan University Summer Vocal Workshop with Steve Zegree. Ellen was also a former director of the Columbia College Chicago Jazz/ Pop Choir. Ellen has a variety of exercises to help you work with your group from the most intermediate to the most advanced level of singing.
Ellen has been amazed at the demand for good, accessible vocal jazz literature. She has been thrilled to work in several Milwaukee area schools as a vocal jazz consultant and clinician and has over 200 arrangements in her personal library. Ellen can help put you in contact with many up and coming as well as established arrangers and can help you find the right literature for your group. The most important thing a music teacher can do is provide the right opportunity for students to learn and understand Vocal Jazz through literature that is accessible and still true to the art form. It is Ellen’s belief that this initial exposure is crucial in creating the audiences of the future, just as it will help inspire the jazz musicians of the future. One cannot exist without the other.
Ellen is proud to have been a Voice Coach to award-winning, Waukesha, WI native, quadruplet Barbershoppers: Vintage Mix Quartet. This amazing group of young adults tours regularly and was awarded the Silver Medal in the BING International Barbershop Competition in Germany in April of 2018. They were one of two groups representing the United States in the competition.