Ellen Pollak Wilson, M.M.
Voice
emwilson@utep.edu |
 |
Office: FFA M337
Office Phone: (915) 747-7797 |
Ellen Pollak Wilson, M.M., is currently a Lecturer in Voice at UTEP, having joined the music faculty in 2006.
Originally from Highland Park, Ill, Ellen attended the University of Illinois at Urbana, Florida State University, and Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C.
The eclectic musical career of this coloratura soprano has included premiering new works for such composers as Carla Scaletti, Jeremy Beck, and Mark Glick, singing with guest conductor Benton Hess & the Raleigh Symphony, appearing as a guest soloist with the Polymnia Choral Society in Boston, and singing the soprano solos in Rutter’s Requiem, in Enfield, NC. Ellen has collaborated with composer/pianist Darleen Mitchell
No stranger to liturgical music, Ellen has sung in almost every denomination as both section leader and soloist, and is currently a cantorial soloist at Temple Mount Sinai.
Determined to demonstrate that sopranos can indeed dance when necessary, Ellen has performed in such theatrical venues as Musicana Dinner Theatre in West Palm Beach, Fla. and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va.
Directing is yet another spoke on Ellen’s wheel of multi-tasking. Having been directed and mentored by opera directors Lisi Oliver and J. Scott Brumit, she has staged opera scenes and helmed stage productions of A Christmas Carol, Love Letters, Nunsense, and Godspell.
Commercial music has been another area of interest. Ellen’s vocal stylings have been featured in several commercials and on a Travesty CD in Germany and she has herself appeared in a TV commercial and a film. In the fall of 2008 Ellen is releasing a CD of contemporary Psalm settings entitled, Shirei HaMa-a lot: Songs of Ascent, arranged and produced by Scott Leader, a rising star in the field of Jewish music.
Ellen is currently collaborating with classical guitarist Armin Harrison on a program of Dowland and Purcell songs entitled, “Across the Ages: Music of the English Renaissance and Baroque” and for which they have received a CAP grant from the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
Ellen will also become a published author in late 2008, early 2009 with the appearance of essays in the Wake up… Live the Life You Love series entitled In Service and Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining: The Best Insight Stories.
|
|
|