Ellie Choate

Ellie Choate

Harp

Office: UMC-C304

One often hears the term "renaissance man" bandied about with much impunity and very little accuracy. Rarely do we hear the words "renaissance woman." In the world of music, it could not be more accurately applied than to harpist Ellie Choate. Ellie’s musical versatility has afforded her the opportunity to touch virtually every area of music making. She is as likely to be found in the opera or symphony orchestra as on stage with show orchestras backing headline artists. She has worked "behind the scenes" on the musical scores of numerous major motion pictures and recordings (including Super 8, Spiderman II, X-Men II, Days of Our Lives, Josh Groban All That Echoes) but has also appeared on camera for movies and television shows (Days of Our Lives, American Daughter). She is an active soloist and chamber musician, playing for events and concerts all across Southern California. Her chamber experience includes recitals and concerts with various artists, including the California Concert Artists, Hutchins Consort, and CalArts New Century Players conducted by Pierre Boulez for the Ojai Festival (2003) and for the Ernst Fleischman Memorial at Disney Hall (2012).

In addition to her private studio, Ellie is on the applied music faculty at UC Irvine, CSU Fullerton, and The Bob Cole Conservatory at CSULB. She has served the harp and string community as First Vice President and as Chairman of the 2005 and 2013 Summer Institutes at the Colburn School for the American Harp Society, Inc., and as President of the Greater Los Angeles Section of the American String Teachers Association. She has also conducted master classes and workshops on arranging, rhythm and pedagogy for the Los Angeles and Dallas chapters of the American Harp Society, AHS and ASTA national conferences, the biennial Harp in Worship conference at Azusa Pacific University, with Norman Ludwin at Local 47 A.F.M., and for the Composers’ Guild at CSU Fresno. Ellie is a founding member of The American Harp Quartet, Duo Pangelica with harpist Jacquelyn Venter, and a long-time duo with harpist Paul Baker. A pioneer in distance learning using Skype, she teaches students as far away as Norway. Ellie has produced four CDs of her classical, pop and jazz arrangements for solo harp, has published works for harp ensemble, and is certified as a therapeutic harp practitioner.