> Download PDF : Elise’s Resume
SINGER • COMPOSER • EDUCATOR
RECORDING ARTIST • COMMUNITY ACTIVIST
P.O. Box 148 • Pine Lake GA 30072 • (404) 297-8398 • elisemwitt@gmail.com • www.EliseWitt.com
EDUCATION & TRAINING
• Born 1953 in Bern, Switzerland
• B.A. in French, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1976
• Diplôme de Français, Université de Lyon, 1972
• Professional development in vocal improvisation, world music, and vocal production: Bobby McFerrin, Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, Rhiannon, David Darling, Sam Rivers, Dr. Fred Onovwerosuoke, Barbara McAfee
LANGUAGES
Fluent • German • French • Italian • Spanish • English
For Singing • Kiswahili, • Kikongo • Japanese • Greek • Russian • Hebrew • Portuguese • Arabic • Sign
INSTRUMENTS
• Voice (main) • Guitar (accompaniment) • Piano & Kalimba (composing & accompaniment)
PERFORMANCE
Representative U.S. performance venues
• Lincoln Center • Vanderbilt University • Carnegie Hall • Cambridge Multicultural Center • Kennedy Center • NC Museum of Art • Habitat for Humanity • Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change • Mabel Dodge Luhan Arts Center • Strathmore Center • Lake Eden Arts Festival • Clearwater Hudson River Revival • Falcon Ridge Festival • Emory University • Rialto Center for the Arts • Savannah Music Festival • Georgia Folk Festival • ROOTS Fest • Eddie’s Attic • Bluebird Cafe • Passim • Folkway • LEAF Lake Eden Arts Festival
International Tours
• South Africa • Italy • Nicaragua • Switzerland • China • Bosnia
HONORS, DISTINCTIONS & AWARDS
• Recipient, Music Composer Award, National League of American Pen Women, 2017
• Recipient, William L. Womack Creative Arts Award, 2015
• Fellow, Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences – 2002-present
• Fellow, Atlantic Center for the Arts with jazz composer Sam Rivers, 2006
• Best of Atlanta, Critics’ Pick, Creative Loafing Atlanta
• Representative for the State of Georgia at the Kennedy Center’s 25th Anniversary
• International Cultural Ambassador: South Africa, Italy, Nicaragua, Switzerland, China, Bosnia
• Artistic Assistance Grants from Alternate ROOTS/Ford Foundation – 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016
• Artistic Director, Sing & Swing Week, The Swannanoa Gathering – 2000-2007
• Keynote Speaker: Massachusetts Childcare Conference; Save the Children Foundation National Meeting
• Keynote Speaker: East Tennessee State University Conference on Early Childhood Education
• Panelist: Southern Arts Federation, Mid-Atlantic Arts Consortium, Georgia Council for the Arts, City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Fulton County Arts Council, Alternate ROOTS
TEACHING & COMMUNITY OUTREACH
• Music Director, Global Village Project, Decatur GA (mid. school for teenage refugee girls) 2009-present
• Teaching Artist – Elementary, Middle & High Schools, Colleges, Universities, Arts Councils – 1988-present
• Workshop Leader at Festivals, Conferences, Universities, Arts Camps –1977-present
• Vocal Teacher for professional singers, artists in other disciplines, and community groups – 1977-present
CHORAL & SYMPHONIC
• Composer – Elise Witt Choral Series, Arrangements by Michael Holmes
• Guest Clinician/Director/Composer – choruses & choirs nationwide
• Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus & Chamber Chorus – Robert Shaw, conductor, 1980-2000
• Robert Shaw Chamber Singers: Resident Choir – Spivey Hall, Carnegie Hall, 1980-2000
• Carolina Choir – Tour of Austria/Yugoslavia – Lara Hoggard, conductor 1971-75
RECORDINGS
Solo Recordings
• We’re All BORN SINGING • Valise • Love Being Here • Open the Window • Mezzanine
Recordings with Elise Witt & Small Family Orchestra
• The Premiere Album • Having a Great Time • Live at WREK • Holding On • Farewell Concert
Recordings with other artists
• Fields of War and Peace / Campos de Guerra y Paz (Mauricio Amaya)
• Harmonies from the Hill (Highlander Center 75th Anniversary) • The Big Silly (Eric Litwin) • Every Burden Shall Be Rolled Away (The Divas) • Food for the Long Haul (Jesse Palidofsky) • Natural Rhythms (Terry Garthwaite & Becky Reardon)
FILMS (Documentaries about Elise Witt, and Elise Witt music used in films)
• 203 Days (2007 CINE Golden Eagle Award) by Bailey Barash
• One Night at the Rialto by David Zeiger
• Who’s That Stranger by George King
• Notes From Nicaragua by George King
• Walk in Peace by Jubilee Partners
• Waiting Children by Carol Burch Brown
PUBLICATIONS (Articles by and articles about Elise Witt)
• All Singing: The Elise Witt Songbook, 58 original songs arranged for solo and ensemble singing, 2019
• Connections (publication of Music for People, the improvisers’ network) 2016
• Public (international journal of higher education community engagement) 2015
• High Performance Magazine (national publication of innovative community art making)
• Pass It On! (national publication for arts education)
ROSTER ARTIST
• National Endowment for the Arts: Alternate ROOTS Tour Program
• State Arts Councils:
• Georgia Council for the Arts
• Tennessee Arts Commission
• South Carolina Arts Commission
• North Carolina Arts Council
• Alabama State Council on the Arts
• Florida Division of Cultural Affairs
• Local arts agencies across the US and abroad
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
• American Federation of Musicians – Local 1000
• Alternate ROOTS (Southeast US coalition of artists working at the intersection of arts and activism)
• ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers)
• Music for People (international improvisers’ network)
• Children’s Music Network (national consortium of artist/educators)
• Highlander Research and Education Center
ARTISTIC COLLABORATIONS & MULTI-MEDIA PROJECTS
• Composer/Arranger: “Mujeres al Filo del Agua/Women at Water’s Edge w/Mujeres en Ritual & Dora Areola, Miroslava Wilson & Celeste Miller, Tijuana Mexico 2019
• Composer/Director: Space is the New Place (multi-media, multi-disciplinary STEAM performance project) Drew Charter School, Atlanta GA 2017, 2018
• Composer/Performer: Marsh Suite (Inter-media collaboration) Martinsville VA, 2017
• Natural Rhythms: Performance Trio w/ Becky Reardon & Terry Garthwaite 2010-present
• Presenter, Cucalorus Film Festival, Wilmington NC 2016
• Director, One Voice Community Chorus for ROOTSFest, Baltimore MD, 2011 w/Dr. Fred Onovwerosuoke (African Musical Arts), Darryl Moch (Charm City Labor Chorus), Tony Winston (Payne Memorial AME Church)
• Composer/Performer: Singing Darwin (24 hr. multi-media performance) Blacksburg VA 2009
• SOAW School of the Americas Watch, Musicians Collective 2008-2015
• Five Women from the South (commissioned by New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center) w/ Paula Larke, Linda Parris-Bailey, Jo Carson, Celeste Miller
• Solo Theatrical Performances directed by Celeste Miller Trilogy: The Time of Cherries, Earbone, The Girl with the Loose Llama
• Hair Hands & Feet w/rhythm dancer Ann Kilkelly & cross cultural percussionist Beverly Botsford
• Founding Member: Theatrical Outfit, experimental theater company, Atlanta GA 1977-1980