STUDENT
PRODUCER | SOUND DESIGNER
SELF-DIRECTED ARTIST
EDUCATOR
As an educator, Ella is an activist and mentor for the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. She began as a camper herself in Washington, DC, before joining the NYC chapter as an Arts & Activism fellow and being a volunteer for 5 years. At the camp she has developed curriculum and workshops for holistic music education as well as empowerment for young girls and non-binary youth aged 8-18. In addition, she has worked as a teaching assistant at the Harlem School of the Arts for young conga players aged 3-9. Notable instructors include LaFrae Sci (Artistic Director of Willie Mae Rock Camp) , Gordon Chambers (educator, songwriter for Anita Baker), Major Scurlock (piano teacher at Julliard, composer for New Amsterdam dance), and more.
As an artist, Ella performs under the alias "Cleo Reed." As a self-directed artist, Ella functions as a genre-bending creator to work in several capacities. This year, she has released two self-produced music videos, and was featured on BBC 1xtra. Notable collaborators include Pusha T (Clipse, Kanye West, Pharrell), Terri Lyne Carrington, Wiki (king krule, Ratking), duendita (Ricky Reed) and more.
As a sound designer, Ella has executed several projects using software and hardware. With Pro Tools, Ableton and Logic as her home base, Ella can produce and design soundscapes, compositional and popular music works, in addition to mixing, mastering, and editing audio for post-production. In 2020, she sharpened her electrical engineering skills by building her own 10-inch studio monitors and programming a video art plug-in. She possesses programming skills in Native Instruments, Max/MSP, CSound, and Python (FFT synthesis). To supplement these crafts, she has an awareness of their histories, completing courses and personal research studies centered around DSP, Electroacoustics, and guitar pedal design. Notable mentors include Dr. Richard Boulanger (developer of CSound, one of the first synth composers), Val Jeanty (vanguard of Afro-Electronic performance and study), Michele Darling (composer for The Muppets, Pokémon) and Daedelus (production credits for MF DOOM, Madlib, Flying Lotus).
As a student, Ella currently attends Berklee College of Music as one of the only black women in the Electronic Production and Design department. She has been awarded several merit scholarships and will finish her final year with a 3.1 GPA. She has participated in numerous performances, clinics, intensives, as well as a study abroad program in Valencia, Spain. Notable professors and mentors include Terri Lyne Carrington (Grammy-Award winning drummer for Esperanza Spalding, Herbie Hancock) Tia Fuller (10-year member of Beyoncé’s first iteration of her all-woman live band), Patrice Rushen (Grammy-nominated composer/producer, Musical Director for Janet Jackson) , Georgia Anne Muldrow (production credits for Erykah Badu, Blood Orange, Robert Glasper, Mos Def) , and more.
