Bio
I'm grateful for a present life rich with music, art and many interest areas; and for a past life in the business and entrepreneurial world.
Music & Radio
Stephanie Essex Elkins is an amateur singer, pianist and guitar player with a love of renaissance, baroque and folk music. She has been a music host and producer for Wisconsin Public Radio since 2007, currently heard on "Morning Classics" every weekday, and was the host of "Simply Folk" for over five years. She has served on the boards of Madison Opera and the Madison Early Music Festival.
Elkins has performed with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Festival Choir of Madison and Madison Opera, and loves one-on-a-part ensemble singing. Recordings include two on the Dorian label with the Bach Choir, two with the Festival Choir, and four recordings produced by Alfred Publishing.
Elkins is a radio announcer and voiceover artist who was co-host of "The Midday" with Norman Gilliland, host and producer of Madison Opera intermission interviews, ten-year host for "Musica Antiqua," a Sunday morning program on WORT-FM 89.9-FM in Madison, Wisconsin, and afternoon classical host on WDIY-FM, an NPR affiliate in Allentown/Bethlehem, PA. Her voice has been heard on everything from a plastic surgeon's infomercial to a hip-hop podcast. Elkins was born in Germany, studied in France, and pronounces Spanish and Italian.
Most of all, Elkins is a musician who enjoys singing, playing piano and guitar, especially with friends and family -- percussion in hand -- singing in harmony.
Photo Bio
There hasn't been a lot of activity with professional photography over the past couple of years, but there was a time . . .
Stephanie Essex Elkins is an award-winning fine art photographer who works in both black & white and color, and particularly enjoys photographing while hiking and cross-country skiing.
As a photographer based in the rural driftless area of the Upper Midwest, Elkins specializes in capturing the flowing contours of its farmscapes and ancient rolling topography. In addition, she has made photo expeditions to Italy, New Mexico, Florida, Guatemala and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Elkins began photographing seriously in 2001 and entered her first competition the following year, capturing two Firsts and a Best of Show. She was a Wisconsin State Exhibit Award winner in the 2003 Wisconsin Regional Artists competition, won two major Purchase Awards at her first juried art fair in 2003, and was a featured solo artist at the Monroe Arts Center Frehner Gallery (WI) in 2004. She was selected to be the featured artist at the 2005 New Glarus Art Fair in the Park, and has been the featured artist at the Sugar River Gallery (New Glarus, WI), Balcony Gallery (Monticello, WI) and the Over the Moon Cafe (Monroe, WI). She has also exhibited at the Cottonwood Gallery (Lake Mills, WI.)
Elkins' work is currently on display at the Town of New Glarus offices and at the Balcony Gallery. It can also be found in personal and business collections throughout the United States and Europe.
Business Bio
Stephanie Elkins currently hosts "Morning Classics" and is the former host of "Simply Folk" on Wisconsin Public Radio. She also served as WPR's marketing director for 15 months through September 2010.
In a past life:
Elkins co-founded Broadjam Inc. with her husband Roy. Based in Madison, WI, Broadjam is home to a substantial web community for independent musicians, with a database of over a half-million original songs and 165,000 members from around the globe. The company also provides technology and services for the music industry, with clients that have included the Academy of Country Music, Warner/Chappell, Yamaha and others.
Elkins ran many of the day-to-day operations of Broadjam as Vice President of Operations through December 2006 with overall responsibility for Marketing, Human Resources, Accounting, Customer Service, Legal and Administration.
Elkins held the position of National Account Manager for Domino Amjet (London Stock Exchange) where she oversaw sales, negotiated purchasing agreements and coordinated international and domestic marketing activity for several multinational corporations including Pepsico, Campbell Soup, and Nestle.
She also served as a Marketing Representative managing annual sales of over $5 million through several hundred distributor reps for Mobil Chemical Company, where she was named "Rookie of the Year" after her first year in the position.
Elkins has also worked as a freelance writer and editor with a focus on business plans, press releases and grant applications. Clients included Miron Construction, InvestWisconsin, Orion Energy Systems, the Governor's Summit on Venture Capital, Gannett Newspapers, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, CTM Family Theatre, Boys & Girls Club of Dane County, Madison Ballet, and the Festival Choir of Madison.
Elkins has served on the boards of Madison Opera and the Madison Early Music Festival and provided formal facilitation services and fundraising consulting to area nonprofits.
Elkins received a BA in Political Science and French from her parents' and grandparents' alma mater, the University of Rhode Island. She started there full-time at the age of 16, served as a Student Senator and chaired the Academic Affairs committee. She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, France for two semesters while working as an au pair. Elkins did two years of graduate work in Applied Economics at the University of Central Florida, while working as a Graduate Research Assistant in the area of economic impact modeling. She is a certified facilitator.
Community Involvement
Board of Trustees, Madison Opera, September 2006 to 2008
Board of Advisors, Madison Early Music Festival, 2001 to 2003 and 2007
Classical Host & Programmer, WORT-FM 89.9 Madison, WI; "Musica Antiqua;" May 1997 to May 2007
Wisconsin Public Television, On-Air Pledge Talent, 2001 to present
Leadership Greater Madison, Sixth Class, Sept. 1998 to June 1999
Wisconsin Women Entrepreneurs, past member
Festival Choir of Madison, 1997 to 2001
Town of Adams, Green County: Facilitator of the town's preliminary citizen land use & smart growth committee, 2001 to 2002
Wisconsin Arts Board Panelist, 1999
Madison Opera, Sang the role of the Shepherd in Tosca, April 1998
WDIY-FM, Allentown, PA, Classical Host & Programmer, 1996 - 1997
Friends of the Library, Treasurer, Red Hill, PA, 1995 to 1997
Bach Choir of Bethlehem, PA, "Bach-to-School" program presenter and performer, 1994 to 1997