Global, Local & Homemade Songs™
The Raleigh Times says, “Elise Witt’s performance are like a suitcase plastered with stickers from around the world… populated with interesting characters both heroic and comic.”
Elise’s original songs are wildly eclectic. Her songs celebrate the pollination of bees, the mystery of the spiral, and the power of Singing to find strength in diversity.
“I See You With My Heart” is one of Elise’s “Multi-lingual, Polyrhythmic Musical Collages, layering up the words for “Welcome” in 10 different languages. The song comes from Elise’s work with the students at the Global Village Project, a special purpose middle school for teenage refugee girls, where Elise used Singing and Songwriting to teach English.
“Bioluminescence” takes listeners to the night sparkling waters around Ossabaw, one of Georgia’s Sea Islands, and Georgia’s first Nature Preserve.
“I Do Remember You” is a tribute to those who inspire us to keep on keeping on.
In addition to her own songs, Elise introduces audiences to Argentine songwriter Maria Elena Walsh’s moving Como La Cigarra (Like the Cicada) about the power of singing for survival; Ich Hab’ Noch Einen Koffer in Berlin (I Still Have a Suitcase in Berlin) made famous by Marlene Dietrich – Elise’s father, famed pharmacologist/spider scientist, is a Berliner; Gino Sansonne’s La Bambina ed il Gabbiano (The Girl and the Gull) from Italy’s Lago Maggiore… as well as new and traditional songs from the Southern USA by songwriters Joyce Brookshire, Tommy Goldsmith, Steve Runkle,and….
Aside from quirky song titles and international flair, the real reason to hear Elise Witt is her charismatic stage presence and her mellifluous voice. The Louisville KY Courier says, “Her straightforward charm and pure, strong voice are truly fine music to the ears.”
All of Elise’s songs come straight from the heart. Her voice has the power to carry you to distant lands as well as inner landscapes. And by the end of a concert, it is not unusual to have the entire audience (self-professed “non-singers” included) singing in fabulous multi-part harmony!