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Elise Witt

Home » About Elise Witt » Elise Witt’s Resume

Elise Witt’s Resume

> 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

Your workshop was totally inspiring!
Joanna
New noise theatre, new orleans lA
Elise teaches great ways to access your deepest, most authentic, most beautiful voice.
Leila
Atlanta, Ga
Elise is a master at guiding voices and opening hearts.
Chorus Manager, WomanSong
Asheville, NC
You don't know how much I needed exactly what you gathered and offered - musically and spiritually.
Lynn
Decatur, GA
You help create positive, transformative experiences for people of all ages.
Outreach Director, LEAF Lake Eden Arts Festival
Black Mountain, nc

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