About Ellen

As a teenager, I was fascinated by jazz improvisation. Audiences were integral to my progress as a musician—a well played riff was reinforced through appreciative nods and applause while less inspired playing was met with devastatingly quiet indifference. This nonverbal dynamic was really clear as I learned to read the audience. I carried this with me at my first job after college, where I taught high schoolers music theory and conducted the school’s orchestra. One day, I decided to share with the class my own compositions. Angular and dissonant, it took several seconds for the high schoolers to react, and when they did, they were not shy in telling me how much they disliked my piece. While their reaction was not a reason to abandon all I was taught, it did make me realize I had neglected to consider my listeners. 

After decades of experimentation with emerging technologies, from creating an app for an interactive opera to composing in 360 degree sound, I found that interactive and immersive approaches evoked immediate audience responses that I had originally found so thrilling in my early career. I also found that these large scale works become magical when working with dedicated collaborators and community partners. Ultimately, my goal is to create works that provide meaningful audience engagement.