An American vocalist and harpist, Annelise Ellars is celebrated for her sensitive musicality and skillful interpretations of a wide variety of repertoire, ranging from the Medieval to present day. She carries three degrees in Music Education and Performance, with her B.M. in Music Ed. completed through rigorous training at The Hartt School of music in Connecticut, where she studied voice with Cherie Caluda and pedal harp with Susan Knapp Thomas. Her two Ma.P.A.M.s* were completed at the prestigious Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland, specializing in the historically informed interpretation of early music repertoires from the 11th-19th centuries. While there she studied voice with Ulrike Hofbauer, Kathleen Dineen, and Katarina Livljanić, and the bray and romanesque harps with Claire Piganiol.

Trained from a young age in modern techniques both as a coloratura soprano and an orchestral pedal harpist, Ms. Ellars quickly developed a love of earlier repertoires, particularly 16th/17th century sacred polyphony as well as English secular song from the century earlier. Fascinated by the intersection between her two instruments, she has mastered accompanying herself in repertoires ranging from the medieval Troubadours to Dowland lute songs. Not only does Ms. Ellars enjoy exploring the expressive possibilities of self-accompaniment, she is also sought after for her “crystalline” vocal quality in both solo and ensemble settings. Having sung in choirs from a very young age, she is a highly skilled and nuanced chamber musician, taking delight in what she describes as ‘floating’ ethereally on the highest part of the ensemble.

No stranger to solo engagements either, Ms. Ellars has taken to the stage in a number of Baroque Opera productions, most recently David e Bersabea by Nicola Porpora as part of the Erasums klingt! Festival in Basel. She had the great pleasure of studying Baroque Gesture under the tutelage of Deda Christina Colonna and Jed Wentz, and Renaissance/Baroque dance under Véronique Daniels and Barbara Leitherer. As a harpist, Ms. Ellars enjoys performing a wide range of repertoire including large orchestral works and musicals, but particularly enjoys the raw and percussive sounds of the gothic bray harps. In addition, she enjoys sharing her love of early music through lectures and demonstrations in universities and schools across the globe.

Ms. Ellars has had the pleasure of appearing as both a soprano and harpist in various festivals across Europe, including the renowned Monteverdi Festival in Cremona, Italy, the celebrated Utrecht Festival Oude Muziek in the Netherlands, the highly respected Festival Voix et Route Romane in France, and the popular Mizmorim Kammermusik Festival in Switzerland. She has also appeared as a soloist with Basel’s distinguished ReRenaissance series and Venice’s esteemed Fondazione Cini, as well as with the ensembles Basler Madrigalisten, Contre le Temps, and her duo Syrens, in which she and her partner flautist Liane Sadler explore the expressive soundscapes of 14th and 15th century British Isles through experimental self-accompaniment techniques and recitations in reconstructed Middle English, most recently at the Europäische Kirchenmusik Festival in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.

*Ma.P.A.M – Masters in Performance Alte Musik

Photo © Dirk Letsch