Introduction

Joan Ellison has been praised for her "vocal prowess....[and] organic grasp of the classic songs" by Michael Feinstein, and has made a specialty of reviving Judy Garland’s repertoire from her golden Hollywood years, live concerts, studio recordings, and television shows. Of her NYC solo cabaret show at 54 Below, Cabaret Scenes Magazine wrote: “[Joan is] Judy-esque in appearance and...a near voice double for her idol.” Joan made her Cleveland Pops Orchestra debut at Severance Hall in 2005 and has since sung more than 70 symphony concerts coast-to-coast. 

Joan recently made her professional European debut, performing Get Happy! A Judy Garland Celebration at the National Concert Hall in Dublin and the National Opera House in Wexford with the Niall Kinsella Orchestra. Other recent engagements of Get Happy! include the Symphonies of Jacksonville, Portland, New Haven, Toledo, Tuscaloosa, Holland, Paducah, Gulf Coast (upcoming), and Hilton Head. Recent concert highlights include a recreation of Garland’s 1961 Carnegie Hall concert hosted by Judy’s daughter, Lorna Luft; Judy & Liza at the Palladium with the Santa Rosa Pops; It’s Magic! Joan Ellison Swings in High Fidelity and Retrophonic Christmas with orchestras across the U.S. including the New Haven Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Whiting Festival Orchestra, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic (upcoming), Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony (upcoming), Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic (upcoming), New Albany Symphony, Enid Symphony, and North Charleston Pops; and sold-out performances of her cabaret show, Love Finds Judy Garland at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Joan has played classic leading-lady roles including Julie in Carousel, Nellie in South Pacific, Eliza in My Fair Lady, and Maria in The Sound of Music, and is a member of Actors’ Equity. Her second album, “Retrophonic Gershwin,” was released in 2015, and during the pandemic she was featured as part of #PBSForTheArts. 

In 2016, Joan embarked on a mission to restore Garland’s original orchestrations. At Michael Feinstein’s invitation she serves as Editor of the  for the Garland Heirs Trust. She earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and serves as Teacher of Popular Voice at The xxxxƵ. Her students have performed on and Off-Broadway, in London’s West End, in bands and national tours, in film and television, and can be heard on recordings in many genres.