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Elise Witt

Touring Shows & Educational Programs

BACKGROUND:
Singer/Composer/Guitarist/Musical Ambassador Elise Witt speaks five languages fluently and sings in at least a dozen more.  Elise was chosen to represent the state of Georgia for the Kennedy Center's 25th Anniversary celebration, and she recently returned from a cultural exchange in South Africa.  She has sung everywhere from New York's Carnegie Hall and the People's Voice Cafe to the Jinotepe Harvest Festival in Nicaragua, the Popular Music Festival in Siena Italy, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.  Elise's music has been broadcast on radio and television around the world.

In addition to performing and recording - she has eight recordings on the EMWorld label - Elise has earned a reputation as a masterful educator, encouraging even the most shy singers, children and adults alike, to revel in their voices. Her workshops use music as a language for learning and better understanding the human family's similarities and differences.

Elise tours with her band Mezzanine, featuring her Global, Local & Homemade Songs. Her concerts are famous for turning the audience (even the self-professed "non-singers") into a glorious chorus.

"A performer to remember with international savvy & personal charm"
-- The Kennedy Center     
"A really delightful concert from the honey voiced Atlanta songwriter who sings the world."
-- Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival     
"Elise Witt is every community arts residency director's dream!" 
-- Betty Snyder, Allied Arts, Milledgeville GA     
"Fun, playful, enjoyable, exciting, thought-provoking, and just plain old good music"
-- The Community Review     
"Wide horizons and a repertoire that borrows from many countries  with a spirit of universal humanism"
-- Le Cri Du Coyote, France

ELISE WITT & THE MEZZANINE BAND - GLOBAL, LOCAL & HOMEMADE SONGS:     
Elise Witt & The Mezzanine Band  perform a multi-lingual program, featuring multi-layered singing, guitar, bass, accordion, saxophone, piano, flute, clarinet, and sometimes tuba!
Number of Performers:  1-5

CANTAMOS CON RITMO:
New! Bi-Lingual Spanish/English Singing & Percussion Extravaganza w/Percussionist Beverly Botsford. Join international vocalist Elise Witt & cross-cultural percussionist Beverly Botsford on a bi-Lingual artsploration/celebration of the Spanish Language and the Contagious Rhythms of Latin America, Spain, and the Caribbean. In an inspired collaboration that honors traditions in a contemporary spirit, Elise & Beverly are the guides on a journey using the two oldest forms of musical expression. Students join in polyrhythms and vocal harmonies on everything from Cuban son and Chilean nueva cancion to Spanish flamenco and a Nicaraguan food song!   We will even create a "polyrhythmic sound painting" using Thank You's from around the world. Music is a language used by people all over the world, a bridge that brings us together as one human family. When we learn songs from other countries, we learn to appreciate what makes each culture different, special, and unique. The program is totally participatory for students and teachers and is offered as concert, workshop, or residency. All ages Audience Limit: 250 performance / 30 workshop
Length: 45 min. performance / 45-55 min. workshop

A MUSICAL TRIP AROUND THE WORLD:
Multi-lingual,  participatory concerts, workshops, and residencies for Elementary Schools A Musical Trip Around the World is totally participatory in nature.  Through multi-lingual singing, students will gain a perception of the rich differences that exist between cultures, while also sensing the universal nature of music that binds the world together as one family.  Students may learn a bi-lingual Puerto Rican song celebrating the human family, a Kiswahili counting song, an animal song in French, a clock song in Danish, a mystery song in Japanese, or a New Orleans vegetarian jazz song.  Many songs are accompanied with Sign Language.      "She was a smash with the students, engaging them actively from the moment they entered our auditorium. Each performance was perfectly tailored to suit the audience. Among the things that impressed the faculty about her Musical Trip Around the World was how it inspired every student to participate, including those with physical and mental impairments. Even those who had been shy around previous visiting artists were seen to be smiling, laughing and following along with Ms. Witt's words and movements." Brian Wright, Arts Coordinatore, Benson Elementary School, Benson NC      "Awesome singing!" Atlanta 3rd Grader      "I loved it and I really feel like my kids were truly a part of this program!" Special Ed. Teacher, Eastvalley Elementary School, Marietta GA Grade Levels: K-5
Audience Limit: 250 performance / 30 workshop
Length: 45 min. performance / 45-55 min. workshop
Ask about Musical Trip residencies!

CHORAL TUNE UP Workshops & Master Classes for University Choral groups, Middle & High School Choruses Choral Tune Up reinforces choral teacher's warm-up techniques for proper breathing, diaphragm work, diction, and dynamics.  Drawing on her vast experience both as a professional soloist and as a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus, Elise breathes new life and excitement into the process of ensemble singing, also giving special attention to the art of  listening.  She will teach songs that are polyrhythmic and polytonal.  These will be a songs that are easy to learn but sound awesome when sung in parts by the whole ensemble.  The workshop is great for group dynamics.      "She gives students an outlet not only to express what's in their minds, but what's in their hearts."  The Daily Reflector, Greenville NC      "She has a way of making students feel good about what they're doing."  Choral Teacher, Atlanta GA      "You have a beautiful voice!!"  HS Student, Barnesville GA Audience Limit: 30-60
Length: 45-60 min.

LANGUAGE IS MUSIC Workshops for High School & University French, Spanish, German, & Italian classes Students and teachers alike are amazed how much easier it is to learn a foreign language through songs.  Drawing on her vast repertoire of songs from Europe, Canada, South America, Africa, and the United States, Elise involves the students in a discovery of Music as a Language.  Each culture brings its own rich linguistic characteristics to its music and has  unique rhythms and melodies to share with the rest of the world.  As Elise teaches songs she puts them into their cultural context with stories that tell where the song came from and how and why people came to sing and write these songs.  Elise is also a stickler for pronunciation, but makes the speaking so much fun, that students find themselves sounding like native speakers in a very short time.      "She taught the students culture, pronunciation, and vocabulary words without the students even realizing it!"  Spanish Teacher, Barnesville HS; Barnesville GA       "I was totally impressed and awed with her fantastic voice and ability to inspire the students."  German Teacher, Upson-Lee HS; Thomaston GA      "She would receive straight A's from me!!"  French Student, Cony HS; Augusta ME Audience Limit: 30-60
Length: 45-60 min.
Technical Requirements: 
          Solo: Complete Sound System
w/ 2  microphones on stands (boom or gooseneck preferred)
          Band: 
Complete Sound System w/ 6  microphones on stands (boom or gooseneck preferred)
2 Dis Experieenced sound engineer

To learn more about Elise, her CD's, and programs for schools and communities, including her multi-lingual programs for students and her popular singing classes for adults and communities visit www.EliseWitt.com.