Remembering Ellie Goldenberg

I first met Ellie Goldenberg when she was a freshman BFA Musical Theatre student at the University of Miami and had been assigned to me for voice lessons. My first impression of her, beyond her striking beauty and charismatic charm, was that of a young woman on a serious mission. She had a very clear idea of where she was headed in life and was prepared to do everything possible to achieve her dream.

Ellie had been performing for several years already, and displayed a potentially excellent voice. She already knew how to make a powerful belt sound but her range was limited, as was her ability to sing in different musical styles. She also had a physical limitation that was a direct result of jaw damage from a childhood accident. To compensate, she tended to jut her jaw and neck forward when she sang. When I told her the only way we could find and fully develop her born talent was to take her back to her childhood voice and build it back out from a different muscular coordination, she never hesitated or questioned me.

Achieving this goal involved fixing Ellie’s posture, which we did in various ways. Once Ellie got the hang of that coordination, I added very light head voice sounds, with no help from her neck and jaw. The sound she made was very light and devoid of any of the volume she was accustomed to, and this was hugely frustrating for her but with specific postures and exercises, and extraordinary strength and determination on Ellie’s part, we slowly built her voice up, baby step by baby step. 

Each year we worked, Ellie continued to develop. I assigned her opera arias and eventually she found her belt voice again, but from a completely different vocal position. She discovered she could sing loud and high without forcing or pushing, but rather by trusting her posture and her breath. She also realized the degree to which she could change vocal styles by making slight adjustments to the way she pronounced the vowels. 

Fearless Ellie accepted every challenge presented to her. I don’t think anyone in our department doubted that Ellie was heading into a bright future after graduation. But that future was not to be. The day after her graduation, Ellie was killed in a freak boating accident.

Ellie’s parents have graciously granted permission for me to share the video of her final performance in the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.

Ellie Goldenberg was one of the most outstanding students/talents I have ever worked with. She will live forever in my heart.