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Elizabeth N. Michel was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois U.S.A. At the age of 5 she began her first studies of voice by belonging to the choral academy “CHAMBANA” – a children’s choir in Champaign, under the direction of Marguerite Shelton. It was there that she was first recognized as a soloist. Her grade school music teacher Mrs. Fischer recognized her talent in class. Then at the tender age of age of 8, she entered her first competition and was chosen as a finalist amongst 290 girls, forming then a part of the group from “Annie.” While growing up, Elizabeth regularly participated in a yearly Latin American event sponsored by the Latin American Student Association called: “Copacabana,” which was held at the University of Illinois Illini Union. Elizabeth cooperated with her singing and dancing for some 12 years at the Copacabana event. Starting in 1980, Elizabeth started singing in the CICC, or Central Illinois Children’s Choir, under the direction of Dr.Carolyn Paulin, wife of the eminent conductor and composer Paul Vermel. Throughout her High School years, Elizabeth participated in several vocal competitions and won 1st place in solo competitions several times. She was also quite active in choirs and variety shows at school. In 1988, Elizabeth entered a beauty pageant known as “Cinderella.” She was judged on appearance, modeling, overall personality and talent. Elizabeth won the title at the Champaign-Urbana local level, moved on to win the state title of Miss Teenage Cinderella, and then competed at the international competition held in Miami Florida. In 1991, Elizabeth was asked to represent the “College Age Cinderella” for the State of Illinois. She went to the international competition in Colorado and was crowned the “International College age Talent” winner for that year. She attended Parkland College and was heavily involved in the choirs: jazz choir and combo, swing choir, madrigals, and the choral union group. Under the direction of Sandra Chabot, Elizabeth was a soloist in various concerts such as Vivaldi’s “Beatus Vir,” the “Irish Spring,” Christmas concerts, and other performances. She graduated with an Associates Degree in Music Performance. Elizabeth then auditioned for William Warfield and gained admission into the U of I at Urbana-Champaign. She studied under Mignon Dunn for 4 years and worked with musicians such as: Kurt Klipstatter, Prof. James Lyke, Dr. Chester Alwes, Nicolas Di Virgilio, Francis Crawford, Ollie Watts Davis, Sylvia Stone, and Ronald Hedlund, among others. Elizabeth performed in several operas at the U of I, including: La Boheme (opera chorus), Orpheus in the Underworld (Ceres), Die Fledermaus (Ida), and The Mikado (chorus). She held a number of recitals at the U of I and later held a concert of her own in Smith hall. She graduated with a B. M. in Vocal Performance. In 1999, she gained exposure in the Bolivian media. With interviews on television and radio, as well as articles and reviews in the papers, Elizabeth held a Gala Concert at the “Teatro Acha” in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It was a tribute concert to women in the arts, featuring a diverse mixture of classical songs, lieder and chansons, along with light selections from musicals, capped off with folkloric and Spanish standards -- all in one evening. Elizabeth went on to continue her studies at Northwestern University where she gained a M.M. with emphasis on Vocal Pedagogy. She then decided to move to Vienna and study with Prof. Franz Lukasovsky from the University of Music and Performance Art, Vienna (Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Wien). She teaches private voice lessons in Vienna and works with choirs to help their vocal production. |
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