Music CV

Susan Ellenton

Music CV

my life in music

Performances in Folk Clubs, Festivals, Conferences & Concerts:

Victoria, Duncan, Cumberland, Whistler, Manning, Vancouver, Bellingham, Winnipeg, Kitchener, Midland, Ottawa, New Zealand, Cornerbrook, St. John’s, Faro, Whitehorse, Dawson, Atlin, Yellowknife, Flin Flon, London, Mariposa, Halifax, Winsor CA, Juneau Alaska, Seattle ...

Some Recent Gigs:

Island Luthier’s Show, Art Gallery of Nanaimo, mini-concert November 2007.
Healdsburg (California) Guitar Festival showcase August 2007.
Montreal Jazzfest Guitar Show mini-concert July 2007.

Scripted Concerts:

Writer, Director, Composer/Lyricist, Solo Performer in
The Secret of My Happiness - an experiment in theatrical solo acapella
Performed at the Art Gallery of Great Victoria, Victoria BC, 1998.
Writer, Director, Composer/Lyricist, Bandleader in
Painting the Path, created for Intrepid Theatre’s Women’s Festival.
Performed at Open Space, Victoria BC, 1995.
Instigator, Researcher, Composer, Workshop Facilitator, and Performer in
Resonance - Voices of Northern Women, an 8-concert Yukon tour of
concerts and community workshops.

Musical Theatre:

Composer of Hagimari No Hagimari (lyrics by Marilyn Bowering).
Victoria, Japan, The Smithsonian, 1990.
Musical Director, Composer/Lyricist, Performer in Stepping Out
Kaleidoscope and the Belfry Theatre, Victoria 1985 (a sold-out 3 week run)
Stewardess/Narrator in Flight 23 an original Yukon musical by Daniel Janke.
Whitehorse, Thunder Bay 1982.

Recordings:

Secret of My Happiness CD by Susan Ellenton (solo) 1998.
Live in the Kitchen CD by Painting the Path (trio) 1997.
In My Backyard CD by Robert and Susan (duo) 1994.
Side by Side cassette by Gleeclub (duo) 1985.
Yukon Women on Alaska Hit Singles LP 1982.
Harbour of her Heart cassette, vocals. Seacoast Sound. Morry Stearns, piano. 1994.

Awards and Recognition:

Scholarship winner, Victoria School of Writing, for work-shopping
The White Canoe, non-traditional musical theatre, with Joan McLeod, 2000.
Top Ten Albums of 1998 for Secret of my Happiness.
(Awarded by Christine Lavin, NY).
Music Scholarships, Puget Sound Guitar Workshops (USA) 2005, 1998, 1990.
Winner of Saltwater Poetry Slam, 1998, Sidney BC.
(Juried by Patricia Young and Linda Rogers).
Official Civic Song of Victoria BC, winning entry, Harbour of Her Heart, 1994.
Grant from Canada Council Explorations for creation and performance of concerts
and workshops: Resonance, Voices of Northern Women, 1984.
Clifford Lee Foundation Grant for Resonance, Voices of Northern Women, 1984.
Madam Trapper Award, first place, Whitehorse Rendezvous 1980. Competition
included snow-shoeing, leg-wrestling, animal calling, chain-sawing and
Robert Service poetry reading.
Arctic Winter Games Theme Song, 1980. Winning entry. Recorded by CBC
Montreal.
Academic Arts Scholarships, University of Waterloo, 1975 and 1976.
Winning entry, YWCA Camp Minwandum Theme song, 1966 (age 12!).

Live TV and Radio:

On CBC radio and cable TV in Whitehorse, Dawson, Yellowknife, Victoria, Toronto, Kitchener, Winnipeg, 1980 - 2007.
Live on Vision TV, Louise Roses’ Let’s Sing Again, 1998.
Filmed for BBC TV’s Great Railway Journeys, 1994;
Recorded for BBC TV’s The Big Race, 1992.
Live in concert on Vicki Gabereau’s Variety Tonight, CBC radio, 1983.

The Ellenton Songbook contains several hundred original songs, including:

Yukon Women - recorded by at least four different artists & used on BBC TV;
Shine On - recorded by Good News and Gettin’ Higher choirs;
S is for Slime and Armillariella mellea - featured in regional and provincial parks;
Camp is the Place - featured on Stewart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe.
In My Backyard - sung every year at minstrel Tom Hunter’s in Bellingham, Wa.
Barbie, Yukon Women, Sacred Song, and Blue-eyed Mary - recorded by various artists including Terri Tibbet (Alaska), Terry and Gwen (Oregon), Lynn Noel and Cindy Kallet (Maine).

Education:

Piano: jazz lessons with Daniel Janke (Whitehorse); Gr. 8 classical with Erica
Koegler (Waterloo).
Voice with Louise Rose (Victoria) 1990’s, Kim Scanlon (PSGW) 1990’s.
Mentored by Richard Schultz, Louise Rose, Randy Raine-Reusch.
Songwriting workshops with Chris Williamson, Charlie Murphy, Bob Franke, Linda
Waterfall, Lisa Aschmann, Johm Millar.
Capilano College Music Program, vocals with Shannon Gunn, 1983/4.
University of Waterloo Bachelor of Arts, completed 1977.

Miscellaneous:

Member and soloist with Louise Rose’s Good News Choir, 1998 - 2000.
Teacher at Georgia Strait Guitar Workshop, and at WomenFriends Camp,
thru the 90’s.
Workshop leader - Songwriters Workshop on Gabriola, 1999.
Self-published Troll Beath and other Foolishness a poetry chapbook, 2000.
Founder of Authentic Voices (alternative music classes), Victoria, 1996 - 2001.

email me: susan@susanellenton.com