Elise Witt

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All Singing: The Elise Witt Songbook – Release Concert

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On November 23, 2019, over fifty musicians and over three hundred audience members gathered at the Chosewood Arts Complex in Atlanta to celebrate the release of ALL SINGING: THE ELISE WITT SONGBOOK. Designed by Jessica Lily, the Songbook contains 58 original songs with music notation, lyrics and chords, graphics, photos, and lots of stories.

The concert raised over $12,000 for the Global Village Project, a school for teenage refugee girls with interrupted education, where I serve as Artist-in-Residence and Director of Music Programs.

All Singing: The Elise Witt Songbook. Ready for signing at the Release Concert
All Singing: The Elise Witt Songbook Release Concert was a benefit for the Global Village Project, a school in Decatur Georgia for teenage refugee girls with interrupted education.

The concert was preceded by a VIP Book Signing to benefit the Global Village Project. Delicious reception arranged by GVP Board member Connie Bryans and catered by Barwin Musa, mother of our Syrian students Reem, Nor, and Samar.

Yum!
Signing books with Global Village Project’s Development Director Erin Alred & Dr. Amy Pelissero, Head of School.
We’re speaking French here, n’est-ce pas!?
Book Signing with GVP mentors Beattie Divine and Nancy Hostetter, as opera singer and GVP Arts Coordinator Kimberli Render looks on. Kim sang a beautiful version of “Singen Macht Alles Gut” (Singing Heals All), which I wrote for my dad.
Ann Strange, and our friend Linda Hill, drove all the way to Atlanta from Knoxville for the concert. What a great surprise!
With GVP Math Teacher Linda Smiley and her family. Here we discuss the number of bites it will take me to eat Barwin’s baklava.
Conundrums drummer Safiyah Pankey makes sure I spell her (and my) name right!
The Rosin Sisters grab a snack before their concert appearance.
Performers join the audience, waiting for their moment on stage.
The stage is set… the concert is ready to begin…
Founding Director of Giwayen Mata women’s drum ensemble and GVP percussion teacher Omelika Kuumba opens the concert with a powerful drum call.
GVP students process in to Omelika’s drum call…
Machozi, Diane and Shukuru play the rhythms of the welcome song “Fanga Alafiya,” by LaRoque Bey based on traditional rhythms from West Africa and the song “Little Liza Jane,” Dance by Pearl Primus
Semira adds her rhythms on the djembe
Mauwa and Hadya on Dunun and Sangban add their rhythms as the Global Village Chorus listens, ready to sing…
The drummers join the chorus and I conduct “I See You With My Heart,” a multi-lingual polyrhythmic musical collage.
The Global Village Chorus sings “I See You With My Heart”
Benedith, Naima, and Ayesha, members of GVP’s special ensemble the Global Village Chorus, which acts as an ambassador for the Global Village Project.
Riziki, Misha, and Emerance add their improvised welcomes to “I See You With My Heart,” a multi-lingual polyrhythmic musical collage.
The Global Village Chorus joins the audience and prepares to enjoy the show…
Welcome everyone!! (Skirt from Amani Women’s Center)
Mahdi Shabazz, son of WRFG Radio Free Georgia operations director Wanique Shabazz, reads the poem “A Singer”
Mahdi Shabazz, son of WRFG Radio Free Georgia operations director Wanique Shabazz, reads the poem “A Singer”
Thank you Mahdi!
“Singen Macht Alles Gut” (Singing Heals All) sung by opera star and GVP Arts Coordinator Kimberli Render, accompanied on accordion by David Marcus.
Thank you David Marcus, who engraved all the music notation for the Songbook!
Thank you Kimberli and David!! After this Kim was off to join the Metropolitan Opera Chorus for their production of “Porgy and Bess”!
Angie, Jeff, and Johnny Mosier perform “Lil’s Song,” written for Lillian Carolyn Aiken Fowler Boyden of Conway Massachusetts.
Angie, Jeff, and Johnny Mosier and I have been friends since the early 1980s and have shared so much music!
Always ready for fun!
DeDe Vogt sings “Lake Song Conversation,” a song I wrote in a class taught by songwriter Bob Franke who first asked, “What is a style of song you admire but can’t imagine yourself writing?” My response: “I admire the way that Spanish and French and Italian songs use poetry for their lyrics, and I can’t imagine writing a love song!” Bob then gave me the assignment to “Write an Italian love song in English”!
DeDe Vogt
DeDe Vogt produced and engineered my first 3 CDs (after Small Family Orchestra). She also played bass, some guitar, sang backup vocals and rounded up a whole bunch of awesome musicians to enrich my music. Thank you DeDe!!
Junk DNA is Lisa Mount (vocals, banjo, trombone), Carol Burch Brown (vocals, ukulele, trombone kazoo), and Ann Kilkelly (vocals, feet).
Bring out the trombones!
Great version of my song “Natural Phenomena” by Junk DNA: Lisa Mount (vocals, banjo, trombone), Carol Burch Brown (vocals, ukulele, trombone kazoo), and Ann Kilkelly (vocals, feet)
Gayanne Geurin sang a powerful version of “You Know,” accompanied by the fabulous Will Robertson on guitar.
Thank you Will and Gayanne!
Sonia Osio, Deidre McCalla, Gayanne Geurin, and Travis McAfee create improvised music for my poem “Earbone,” which explores my fascination with Sound and Language.
New musical explorations and discoveries for the song “Earbone” with Sonia Osio, Deidre, Gayanne Geurin, and Travis McAfee.
Travis McAfee sings a super hip version of my song “Like.”
Travis McAfee sings “Like”
Melanie Hammet with Melissa Junebug on percussion rocking out on “Spiral”
Melissa Junebug takes a percussion break for Melanie Hammet’s version of “Spiral”
Melanie Hammet is the Mayor of Pine Lake, the town where I have lived since 1998. Inspiring to have an activist musician leading our fair city!
Thanks to Mayor Hammet and MAP – Pine Lake’s Municipal Arts Panel for their award that seeded the publication of my Songbook!
Jessica Lily accompanied by Daniel Jenkins on cello for “Mimosa Time”
Jessica Lily accompanied by Daniel Jenkins on cello for “Mimosa Time”
My dad played cello, so I loved hearing Daniel Jenkins’ cello on “Mimosa Time”
Jessica Lily is the Designer who shepherded All Singing: The Elise Witt Songbook from start to finish. It looks so beautiful because of her! She also designs my website, creates my music videos, and makes photo shoots fun. Thank you Jessica!!!!
Thanks to Britt Dean and the whole crew at the Chosewood Arts Complex for welcoming the celebration of my Songbook.
“Venus Between Us” performed by the Band of Desperate Men: Doug Oster, Britt Dean, Clay Spurz.
“Venus Between Us” performed by the Band of Desperate Men: Doug Oster, Britt Dean, Clay Spurz.
John McCutcheon just put out a CD in tribute to Pete Seeger. For the concert, he played “Blessed Nation,” Pete’s poem which I set to music.
John McCutcheon revives his performance of “Blessed Nation,” for which he also joined me and Frank Hamilton on the Valise CD.
I couldn’t resist jumping onstage with John McCutcheon to sing harmony on “Blessed Nation.” The audience couldn’t resist singing either in powerful 3-part harmony!
It’s always thrilling to sing with Joyce L. Williams. Though we missed Jacque Howard, we enjoyed some beautiful harmonies on “Only Love Will Do.”
With Joyce L. Williams on “Only Love Will Do” which I co-wrote with Terry Garthwaite.
Loved singing harmonies with Diane Durret’s stripped down version of “All Singing,” with Melissa Junebug on percussion.
Thank you Diane Durrett!
Thank you Melissa Junebug for spicing up the rhythms of the concert. We also loved having you at Global Village Project, and so appreciate your support!
Eugene Wolf, came all the way from Abingdon VA to sing a beautiful version of “That Silver Sliver of a Moon”
I’ve been a fan of Eugene Wolf (Brother Boys & the Road Company) since the late 1970s! So honored to have him come all the way from Abingdon VA to sing on this concert!
The fabulous Caroline Aiken played a gorgeous version of “Twenty-first of June”
Thank you Caroline Aiken for coming over from Athens GA!
Loved Kenneth Johnson’s country version of “My Dearest Wish”
Kenneth Johnson
Mick Kinney accompanied several people on his specially tuned lap steel.
Sara Moylan and her Giraffe friend introduce “Amoeba”!
“How I wish I were an Amoeba, the simplest form of life…”
Thank you Sara Moylan for adding some theatricality to our show!
Tony Godwin was drawn to my song “Bees Make Honey”
“As the bee takes the essence of the flower and flies, without destroying its beauty or perfume, so wander in this life”
Deidre McCalla created some really cool guitar accompaniment for “I Do Remember You”
I have Deidre’s first LP on Olivia Records!
Always a pleasure to hear Deidre McCalla!
Deidre’s son Nia, now a young man in his 20s, took German lessons with my mom when he was a kid. It’s been great staying connected all these years!
Veronika Jackson is “Too Busy for the Blues”
Thank you Veronika Jackson!
Ken Gregory singing “Peace with Harmony,” which I recorded at his wonderful studio 800 East in Atlanta.
Ken Gregory does it all – engineer, producer, arranger, singer, guitarist, bassist, and I love it when he pulls out the trumpet!
Mick Kinney assembled this ensemble with his son Evan and David Marcus on accordion to play his parody of my Manouche song “Ma Roulotte.” His version: “My Trailer”!
“The Farmer and the Gypsy” performed on triple fiddles by the Rosin Sisters.
Mick Kinney supports on guitar for those angelic 3-part Rosin Sister harmonies.
I loved working up a Spanish-English version of “Set Us Free” with Lisset & Judith Rodés aka CubanaSong.
Thanks to Lisset Rodés for translating “Set Us Free” into Spanish.
We cannot lie our way to the truth / Por qué mentir para buscar la verdad?
We cannot spend our way out of debt / Por qué gastar para endeudarnos mas?
We cannot war our way to peace / Por qué pelear para lograr la paz?
Words by Rev. Timothy McDonald
Our amazing Stage Manager Angela Wade surprised me with a Baby Taylor guitar signed by all the musicians!
Wha……????
A gift that keeps on giving – thank you so much to all the musicians who graced the stage and created their beautiful new interpretations of my songs!
All performers up on stage to sing and dance the evening out!
Sonia Osio takes a lead as we continue to “Set Us Free”!
Bring up those horn players!
Harmonies galore…
What a night!

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