Ellen Joy Johnson
Ellen Johnson is a professional musician, educator, and integrative embodiment vocal coach whose work bridges the fields of music, sound healing, and neuroarts. With 40 years of exploring the therapeutic power of sound and music her belief is that the human voice is a powerful instrument for both artistic expression, well being, cognitive improvement and personal transformation.
Deeply immersed in the field of sound healing, Ellen blends her extensive musical knowledge with holistic and therapeutic practices to support emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. Drawing from decades of experience as a professional vocalist and vocal educator, she guides clients and singers toward healthy vocal technique, embodied expression, and emotional authenticity. She is dedicated to the voice as a tool for both creative expression and personal transformation using vocal technique for trauma-informed results, improvisation for creativity, and frequency-based approaches to support emotional regulation, cognitive function, and holistic well-being. Ellen is currently researching the effects of higher frequencies and whistle register tones on brainwave entrainment and altered states of consciousness. She is also exploring the impact of vocal improvisation on cognitive function, creativity, and emotional regulation, and actively seeks interdisciplinary collaboration with members of the scientific and neuroscience communities.
Her academic background includes Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in Vocal Performance, and a Music Business Certificate from UCLA Extension. Ellen’s advanced training includes Frequency Medicine, Sonic Science & Cymatics with John Stuart Reid; Integral Studies in Music Therapy at the University of Humanistic Studies; certificates in Expressive Arts Therapy (Jane Goldberg) and Creativity Coaching (Eric Maisel); as well as studies in Advance Studies in Behavioral Psychoacoustics (Dr. Jeffrey Thompson), BioSonic Tuning Forks (Dr. John Beaulieu), Sound Healing Alchemy (Eileen McKusick), and the Harmonics of Sound and Color (Elias Mohan/William David). She has also studied with noted pioneers such as Jonathan Goldman and Fabien Maman.
Ellen Johnson’s musical journey is marked by extraordinary versatility and artistic excellence. She has performed, recorded, and studied with a veritable who's who of the jazz and music world, including David Sanborn, Bobby McFerrin, Charles McPherson, Mark Egan, Louie Bellson, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Don Braden, , John Clayton, Gene Aitken, Marni Nixon, and George Shirley.
Through her company, Vocal Visions (Sound Creativity), Ellen produces music recordings and educational materials that support creative expression, healing, and transformation. As a performer, she has worked across genres—jazz, classical, musical theater, pop—and her versatility informs her ability to teach crossover styles. She also has a strong background in vocal pedagogy, voice rehabilitation, and trauma-informed vocal work. Her current recording projects—designed for meditation, relaxation, grief support, and mood enhancement—include Amphitrite’s Longing: An Oceanic Dreamscape, Dimensions of Nature, and various improvisational works that feature ambient textures, nature sounds, and vocal layers to create immersive soundscapes for inner balance and deep listening.
Ellen is the author of Jazz Child: Portrait of Sheila Jordan (Rowman & Littlefield), a Jazz Journalists Association Best Book Award nominee, and contributor to Jazz Omnibus: 21st Century Photos and Writings by Members of the Jazz Journalists Association (2024). She has served on the faculties of the University of San Diego, USC, California Polytechnic University Pomona, the Old Globe Theatre MFA program, and the California Jazz Conservatory. Ellen continues to offer master classes, workshops, and private training—empowering individuals to unlock their voices as tools for healing, creativity, and connection.