Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Kennebec Journal Staff
HALLOWELL -- Maine native, Hall-Dale graduate and ASCAP award-winning jazz singer/songwriter Halley Elwell will return for a one-evening performance with her mentor, Marcia Gallagher. The event will take place at the Higher Grounds on Water Street in Hallowell on Thursday at 7 p.m. There is no cover charge.
Elwell, who moved to California in 2007, attributes much of her musical career success to the education and encouragement she received in Maine, according to a news release.
"I started taking piano lessons from Marcia Gallagher when I was 12. And I was a freshman when Deb Large began teaching at Hall-Dale, so she and Marcia were a large part of my musical support system," Elwell said.
Before she graduated in 2002, Elwell participated in Hall-Dale musicals. She also took part in District Chorus, All-State and Jazz All-State, as well as the popular Hall-Dale vocal group 'Purple Enigma'.
Elwell graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz and African-American Studies. While there, she studied with Dr. Catherine Jensen-Hole and jazz-legend Sheila Jordan, at the 'Jazz in July' Summer Music program where she debuted one of her first original songs, 'Nobody Bothers Me,' and went on to earn the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer award, which will presented in New York.
Her first album, "Last Spring," is comprised of five original songs (including the ASCAP award winner) and three of Elwell's favorite standards. With the album in its final stages of production, Elwell has launched a fundraising campaign on www.indiegogo.com to help cover expenses.
Incentives to donors, in addition to supporting emerging talent, include signed concert posters, copies of the CD and original work created by Elwell's talented siblings, Cassie Elwell and Angela Snyder, under their House of Bouton and Nouveau Abode design labels, to support for their sister.
Samples of Elwell's music and details about how to support her album through the indiegogo campaign, can be found at www.halleyelwell.com.
-- Nancy McGinnis
Tweet
Copyright ©2012 MaineToday Media, Inc.
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Deals
Maine Yellow Pages
Further Discussion
Here at PressHerald.com we value our readers and are committed to growing our community by encouraging you to add to the discussion. To ensure conscientious dialogue we have implemented a strict no-bullying policy. To participate, you must follow our Terms of Use.Questions about the article? Add them below and we’ll try to answer them or do a follow-up post as soon as we can. Technical problems? Email them to us with an exact description of the problem. Make sure to include: