ELISE WITT / JOYCE & JACQUE

ELISE WITT

Singing is in our souls. Singing is in our bodies. Singing brings us together in community.
Elise’s original songs celebrate the pollination of bees, the mystery of the spiral, and the power of singing to find strength in diversity.
Elise’s concerts of Global, Local & Homemade Songs™ and her Impromptu Glorious Chorus™ workshops create and connect singing communities around the world.
Born in Switzerland, raised in NC, and living in Atlanta since 1977, Elise speaks 5 languages fluently and sings in at least a dozen more. From 2009-2024, Elise served as Director of Music Programs at the Global Village Project, (GVP) a special purpose middle school for teenage refugee girls in Atlanta, Georgia.
Imagine a Circle: The Global Village Songbook includes 55 songs written by, with, and for the GVP students. The Elise Witt Choral Series features choral arrangements of Elise’s compositions, and she recently published All Singing, a songbook with 58 original songs for solo and community singing.
Elise regales audiences with a diversity of languages and genres as well as her joie de vivre. And, by the end of the concert, you might find yourself part of her Impromptu Glorious Chorus!

JOYCE & JACQUE

Joyce & Jacque perform original music defined by unusual and stunning harmonies. Jacqueline R. Howard provides an ethereal soprano and a powerful, rhythmic guitar; Joyce L. Williams lends a rich alto to the group. They met at Spelman College and began singing together in Boston while pursuing graduate degrees.
The duo has shared the stage with powerhouse singers Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, The Pointer Sisters, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Nina Simone, and Odetta. Their recordings Higher Ground, Sing A New Song, and Revive Us Again and their electrifying live performances have earned them many awards including the New South Music Award for Best Folk Band and the NAACP Freedom Fund Award.
As master teachers, they have inspired children and adults alike. For many years, Joyce taught music in the Fulton County Public Schools, and Jacque directs Ms. Gussie’s Place, a center for multiply-challenged children and their families.
The duo’s hope is that their music will lead others to the well of healing. Drawing from their Christian faith and incorporating hard-hitting issues, they minister to the human condition through the heart, leaving their audiences motivated to keep hope and faith alive in today’s world.