ARTIST IN RESIDENCY:

Bringing the Blues to YOUR School

Bringing the Blues to YOUR School is a top-notch, proven musical curriculum that Ellen brings to your school.

Ellen’s program brings your entire school and community together sharing the joy of music, all the while sneaking in a ton of learning.

Ellen has a knack helping kids tap into their inner selves for inspiration that the entire class will use to write and perform, on-stage, their own hit song (let’s hope) .

Here's why is this program is so valuable to your school and kids?

  • Cross discipline learning provides the students with a richer, more enhanced understanding of the bigger picture.
  • Students learn about the rich heritage and evolution of blues music, tracing back to the times of slavery.
  • They will learn what an original American Art Form is, and why the blues is recognized as one.
  • Students are guided through the process of song lyric writing.
  • But most importantly, they have fun and want to learn. It’s a win/win/win.

For more info contact us »


Letter of Recommendation from the Social Studies Teacher at Ackerman Academy / 2014-15:

"The students performance in March was truly spectacular and they all reached a level of confidence none of us at the school had ever seen before. I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to work with Ellen and highly recommend her to anyone looking to put on a great music program.

Ellen planned almost an entire term of curriculum linking musical history with other key historical events from slavery through the Progressive Era. She was always prepared for class with ample copies and student instructions. I really appreciated how receptive she was to suggestion, and her willingness to make any adjustment to fit her content into the units I had already planned!"

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KUDOS from the kids at Mt. Pleasant Elementary 6th grade class:

"The arts are really important to kids and for some that's the only way they can express themselves. One thing you'll learn from Ellen is never give up!"

"My class had a blast with Ellen. We wrote songs and got to know Ellen. We even made up our own blues names. I promise your school will have so much fun."

"Kids will love to do this. It was a great experience for me and it was so much fun. I would really want to do this again!"

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KUDOS from the kids at Ackerman Academy, grades 9-12:

"This has been by far the best experience of my high school career and as a musician."

"Thanks, Ellen for all the commitment, love, support, patience, time given, musical talents, trust, knowledge, guidelines, history tools and all the other things you provided during your time with us here at Ackerman."

"Thank you for helping me be me and thank you for being a one of a kind best of yourself--I am not a victim, I am victorious!"

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KUDOS from Tina Rhue, Estacada Junior High Principal:

"When the opportunity to with Ellen was proposed to me, I was a bit leery about how a musician could weave her love of music into the elements of the Common Core through our seventh and eighth grade social studies classes. She succeeded in doing this through detailed planning sessions with both social studies teachers as well as our art teacher prior to her time in the classrooms." See the entire letter »

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KUDOS from Sam C. Thompson, Carus Elementary Principal:

"Once again, I cannot speak highly enough of Ellen, her musical ability, her personality, and her work ethic. She went above and beyond in creating a successful experience for our school. She was worth every penny that we paid in this process ... you will not regret making the decision to work with Ellen Whyte."

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KUDOS from the kids at Carus Elementary:

"Thank you for helping us write a song. I had fun with you and I still have the song in my head."

"Thanks for teaching me about the blues. I like the blues. It's cool."

"You were great. That song we wrote, I can still remember how to sing it. You were awesome, I mean come on! I had a great time."

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WATCH Ellen's recent Residency Experience
at the Oregon Trail Academy here»

Description of Residencies:

As a working musician in Oregon for the past 35 years, I very much appreciate the opportunity to work in the schools. I believe I have something to share based on my lifelong experience with music and performance arts.

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During these residencies, students become involved through highly interactive "hands on" experiences, as they learn about the roots of American/African music. They are introduced to a variety of musical styles, from Blues to modern contemporary music. Students are exposed to learning about the artists who penned and made the music popular, and the reasons for its popularity. Multiple video and audio examples are presented.

I begin with the history. The historical timeframe from the Civil War to Civil Rights includes a brief outline of the different eras, along with musical styles of the times. This music has become the "sound track" of our lives, and the historical background tells the story. We explore multiple genres while investigating the key issues relating to the development of each time period's music.

African culture has a deep connection to the music of the United States. We will trace the roots of our music history to that of African music. This exciting culture has a rich legacy of storytelling, rhythms, celebrations of rites of passages--all relating to the integration of music in the culture. A variety of visual and audio examples is presented to illustrate these components.

The next step in the residency is songwriting. The students and I work collaboratively to determine a historical time frame and themes to write within the songs. This is a very exciting opportunity for students to see music history and its relevance to their lives. We discuss the process of songwriting, brainstorm ideas, create lyrics that present the themes and structure the music to fit the lyrics. Once the songs are completed the students learn them and perform them in a community presentation.

I am open to customizing my curricula to meet the needs of the students, the school, and the budget.

For further information, contact me.

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Estacada School District
Artist in Residence 2014

Senior High Concert Choir debuts an original composition written by Ellen and her husband John Mullin. Choral arrangement by Glenn Holstrom.

Some Kudos:
Letter from Estacada Together
News Article

Carus Elementary School
Artist in Residence 2010 & 2013

Grades K-6 (13 classes) learned about the Roots of Blues Music, as well as wrote and performed their own blues song.

Here is a 4+ minute Documentary of the process from start to performance.

Some Kudos:
Letter from the Principal
Letter from one of the teachers
Song by the 1st-2nd graders The Magic Pond

Mt. Pleasant Elementary School
Artist in Residence 2009

Some Kudos:
Letter from one of the teachers

Ackerman Academy School
Artist in Residence 2008

Some Kudos:
Letter from the Principal
Letter from one of the teachers

PHOTO CREDITS

Many of the images on this site were taken by fans, but some were taken by professionals. To give them credit, here they are listed and you can check them out at their web sites.

Frank DeSantis
Karylee Harrison
Susan Thorsen
Greg Johnson
Bobby Pallotta (for the Bacon Song)
Charles Ryan II Photography