Ellie Amelia Ushakov is a senior music major at Skidmore College. She can be found on stage—performing with Classical Guitar Ensemble, Old Time String Band, People Who Sing, or as one half of folk duo Question of the Century—and off-stage, pursuing her love of sound engineering as Technical Director at Lively Lucy’s and as a teacher’s assistant in Zankel’s own Grossman Recording Studio. Mainly studying science and ballet while in high school, Ellie picked up guitar in late 2019, initially to play in a Beatles parody band with her friends. Shortly after, inspired by the ‘60s and ‘70s folk revival, she began writing original songs. She soon realized that connecting with people through the shared emotional experience of music was more fulfilling than anything she had ever done before. In college, Ellie continues performing as a singer-songwriter, while taking lessons in classical guitar, mandolin, and voice.
This recital includes collaborations with Owen Delaney (classical guitar), Asher Gordon (classical guitar), Francis Davies (banjo and vocal harmonies), Rimmele Wood ’25 (guitar), Natalie Jones (fiddle), Frankie Belden (fiddle), John Kirk (mandolin and guitar), Joel Brown (guitar), Alex Ciardullo ’25 (drums), Thayer Ross (upright bass), and Jackson Giumarro (mandolin), with additional members of the Skidmore Old Time String Band joining for the finale.
Presented by the Department of Music
RSVP encouraged!