with Jazz Vocalist & Director Ellen Robinson
Piano accompaniment provided
Five Mondays: 7:00 – 10:00 PM
October 22, 29, November 5, 12, 19
Beacon School
200 Dennison, Oakland 94606
Vocal intensive for advanced vocalists for want to fine tune their performance skills, classical singers who are interested in learning new styles, and choral singers who want to step in to the spotlight. Each singer will perform in every class and receive individual coaching.
To schedule an Audition:
Contact Ellen at
510-350-8323 or
Cost: $375.00
No Refund, once your place is reserved, for cancellation or classes missed.
Class size is limited to 10 maximum. First preference given to those who will be participating in all five classes.
Send To:
Ellen Robinson
3542 Fruitvale Ave.
PMB 143
Oakland, CA 94602-2327
Topics to be addressed in these workshops:
- How to prepare songs in different styles
- Using new rhythmic approaches to spice up your song
- Finding the best key
- Directing your accompanist or band
- Creative phrasing
- Connecting vocal technique to emotional interpretation
- Stage presence
- Audience rapport
- Microphone technique
Ellen Robinson has been teaching singers and directing vocal groups for over 30 years and is a member of NATS. She has been a Vocal Instructor on the faculty of U.C. Berkeley Extension and a Choral Conductor with the Oakland Youth Chorus.Ellen started the Anything Goes Choruses in San Francisco and Oakland and has been the Musical Director since 1980. She currently directs several other vocal groups in the Bay Area, including three women's ensembles: Girlfriendz, Swingshift Singers and Treble Makers and works with private voice students as a vocal coach.
Ellen is an accomplished jazz vocalist performing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her second CD called MERCY! ELLEN ROBINSON LIVE was just released in May of 2006. She produced this CD in collaboration with Bay Area radio personality and drummer, Bud Spangler. She is known for her clever phrasing, her expertise in telling the story with warmth and vulnerability, and her ability to make it all sound oh-so-easy and effortless.
"Ellen Robinson's CD "Mercy!" showcases the West Coast singer in a beautifully balanced program of standards and fresh material. Hers is a white chocolate sound, intense and pure, swinging and bitter-sweet." Carol Sloane, jazz vocalist
Ellen toured with the acclaimed women’s a cappella sextet Vocolot from 1989-2005: winner of The Contemporary A Cappella Recording Association Award for Best Album 2003 and nominated for Best Album 1998.
Ellen's singing is enriched by a firm foundation of education and training: she earned a Bachelor of Music degree focusing on piano and voice from Ithaca College, and studied Music Education on the graduate level in New York at C.W. Post, Hofstra University, Bank Street College of Education, and SUNY-Stony Brook. She has studied with the legendary Mark Murphy, former Voicestra member Raz Kennedy, jazz vocalist Madeline Eastman, scat singer extraordinaire Kitty Margolis, and cabaret performer Faith Winthrop.