So Where To Today?

Ella Grace is an award-winning performer, composer, and educator based in Chicago. Born in Georgia and raised in Minnesota, Ella has been heralded as “ultra-talented” by the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and labeled a “rising star” in the Twin Cities jazz scene. Ella moved to Chicago in 2021, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies summa cum laude from DePaul University in 2025. In 2024, Ella won the Chicago Music Scene Fellowship, which funded her debut album as a leader, releasing March 2026 on Shifting Paradigm Records. Ella performs frequently in the Chicago area, Midwest, and beyond both as a side-woman and bandleader with her original compositions a variety of jazz and jazz-adjacent styles. Ella has performed with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and toured internationally with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Ella is also a passionate jazz educator and won the 2024 Jazz Education Network Jamey Aebersold Endowed Scholarship, a special distinction for young educators. Ella has a robust private studio and teaches masterclasses and summer camps across the country to help foster the next generation of jazz musicians. Most recently, Ella taught at the University of North Texas Summer Jazz Workshop.