As she is soon going to part ways with DCG, she has certainly left her stamp on the fine arts programs making people laugh, cry, and smile as they listened to her classically trained voice and her orchestra skills as she participated in choir, jazz choir, show choir, individual and large group speech, 4 musicals, 1 play, band, marching band, and played in the All-State Orchestra three times all over the past four years. The exceptional student and talent, Ella Christensen, the third senior spotlight in the DCG Class of 2025, has left the DCG fine arts program better than she found it.
Growing Up
A talent like Ella’s does not come out of nowhere. She remembers singing being one of her earliest memories as her mother, Danielle Christensen, would continuously sing her and her brother to sleep. Ella found joy early in singing, as she recalled doing karaoke as a toddler, but believes it was middle school when she started to take it seriously, suggesting it was something she could succeed at. Ella has such a distinct, opera-like voice, and, although definitely due to a little natural aptitude, it was also her voice lessons, hard work, and ability to sight read that enabled her to prosper. No wonder Ella has such a fantastic voice; she started vocal lessons in classical singing before her freshman year with Leanne Freeman-Miller at Drake University. Now she has grown to work with a private studio.
Ella’s Voice
Ella’s voice has always stood out due to it being significantly more mature than those of her age, and if you have had the privilege of listening to her sing, you would understand. But in her eyes, it is not her gifted talent but musicianship, skills as an instrumentalist, and confidence that have allowed her to be so successful in the DCG choral program. Ella has expressed that singing is really just a mass of learning, and she has acquired how to not be afraid of making mistakes. In her words, “if I make one [a mistake] I make it loudly; and the more I do that the less I make.” Since Ella has been trained in classical singing, she has found it difficult to navigate the array of different styles. When in a choir setting, it is often imperative that she can blend with the ensemble, which could sometimes pose a complication due to her having such a big and unique voice. As mentioned before, Ella has been involved with numerous music-focused activities over her four years at Dallas Center-Grimes High School, forcing her to learn how to shift back and forth vocally. Between choir, opera, jazz choir, show choir, and musical theater, all these require a different sound and singing identity in the moment, therefore, she must be aware and also maintain total control of her voice depending on which group she is singing with.
Just like how soccer is more than just kicking a ball or how school is more than just sitting in a classroom, singing is more than just notes on a page. Ella believes that signing doesn’t get magical until you can get your head out of the music and become invested in the story you’re telling. She encourages other young musicians to have trust in themselves and develop a desire to change from just singing to truly making music by making it their own.
Ella and the DCG Musical Program
Ella has seemed to have done it all when it comes to the music program. She has had a role in all three musicals for the past three years. As just a freshman, she got a role as the purple mer-sister in The Little Mermaid. A role that suited a freshman well, where it was a great introduction to the program but did not add too much pressure. In her sophomore year, she played Vi Moore, the pastor’s wife, in the showing of Footloose. This was Ella’s favorite musical she has been a part of because it was her first ‘lead’ role and she got her own song. In fact, she got to attend the Iowa High School Musical Theatre Awards because of how she embodied the song! What an outstanding achievement by Ella! And just last year, her junior year, she was part of the featured ensemble and the understudy for the character Morticia in The Addams Family. But do not think Ella is done yet. At the end of April 2025, Ella will be stepping into possibly the biggest role she has had in all four years when she plays Miss Honey in Matilda the Musical.
Another fond memory of Ella’s was when she participated in the All-State concert her senior year. She recalls so vividly performing in the concert and just being so proud of herself, as she recalls all the time and energy she exerted into this passion for the past three years. As she performed her solo during the show, a rush of nostalgia came fleeing through her mind, being able to almost picture herself practicing all the material, preparing for audition after audience, studying concert music hours into the night, and every hour rehearsed had brought her to that moment and it was pure joy and gratitude.
Not Just An Artist
In addition to all of Ella’s musical activities, she can be found participating in multiple clubs. In her 4 years, she has participated in the swimming team, Mock Trial, National Honor Society, Key Club, Silver Cord, and Student Ambassadors.
What’s Next For Ella?
With a high school career like Ella’s, it is no surprise she plans on studying musical theatre in college, but she described the audition process of college as “crazy and difficult”. To summarize, programs will have thousands of students audition and only take 8-20 total. Ella has auditioned for approximately 40 schools and was, not surprisingly, accepted academically into all of them, but has only gotten artistic acceptance from around 12. Although undecided, Ella is sure to succeed at any university through both her academic and artistic skill sets.
Out of college, Ella is confident she will strive to do cruise work, eventually hoping to work on a Disney cruise. In the future, she hopes her passion and future education could lead her to a career in performance, eventually shifting to becoming a director or college professor.
Through all of her involvement, hard work, and talent, Ella Christensen has learned how to make the audience laugh and cry with her turn of acting choices, how to portray a story through musical and vocal decisions, and most importantly, how to not be afraid to make a mistake. For those hopeful young musicians who have a passion for performing, Ella Christensen would be a fabulous role model to teach you the ins and outs of vocal confidence!
Matilda the Musical
If you don’t take my word for it, come out and see Ella, and the rest of the DCG cast and crew, when they take the stage on April 25, 26, and 27 at Dallas Center Grimes High School in their showing of Matilda the Musical. It is a performance you will not want to miss!
Click here to purchase tickets to check out Ella in DCG’s showing of Matilda the Musical. The QR code below is also a link to purchase tickets.
The Senior Spotlight Series is produced by Neela Williamson, a school-to-work intern in the DCG Communications Department.