Singer Joan Ellison, called a “rare combination of artist, archivist, and arranger” by Michael Feinstein, will bring her theatrical concert ‘Love Finds Judy Garland’ to the Camden Opera House stage on Saturday, November 18, at 7:30 p.m.

The evening celebrates “Miss Show Business” with a trolley ride through her life, from her swing-singing days at MGM to her take-no-prisoners sold-out concerts around the globe. It's a highly personal love letter to the genius of Judy Garland and her path to true love, including, The Trolley Song, Over the Rainbow, Just in Time, If Love Were All, The Boy Next Door, I Got Rhythm, By Myself, The Man That Got Away, The Palace Medley, and Get Happy.

The show features virtuosic arrangements based on Garland’s original orchestrations, played by cellist and Midcoast native,Nora Willauer, and New York City-based pianist Shane Schag.

Ellison has been described by Cabaret Scenes magazine as “Judy-esque in appearance and... a near voice double for her idol.”

As the restorer of Garland’s original orchestral arrangements with Michael Feinstein for the Judy Garland Heirs Trust, she brings musical authenticity and a life-long love for Judy to the stage.

Recent Ellison concert highlights include a song-for-song recreation of Garland’s 1961 Carnegie Hall concert hosted by Judy’s daughter, Lorna Luft, with Joan and Broadway divas Debbie Gravitte and Karen Mason; “Get Happy! A Judy Garland Celebration” with the Toledo, Jacksonville, New Haven, Springfield, Punta Gorda, New Albany, Southwest, Paducah, Bartlesville, and Portland Symphonies, The Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota, and the Cleveland Pops; and Holiday Pops appearances with the Erie Philharmonic, Augusta Symphony, and Cleveland Pops. Her new concert, It’s Magic! Joan Ellison Swings in High Fidelity, premiered with the North Charleston Pops and the Whiting Festival Orchestra in 2023.

In 2016, Joan embarked on a mission to restore Judy Garland’s original orchestrations. At Michael Feinstein’s invitation she serves as Editor of the Judy Garland Carnegie Hall Concert Restoration Project for the Judy Garland Heirs Trust. Recently, Joan was given the privilege of restoring the newly-rediscovered MGM film arrangement of “Over the Rainbow.”

Joan made her Cleveland Pops Orchestra debut at Severance Hall in 2005 and has since sung more than 65 concerts coast-to-coast with the Santa Rosa Pops, Evansville Philharmonic, Erie Philharmonic, Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Wheaton Pops, Canton Symphony, Ashland Symphony, Enid Symphony, Bemus Bay Pops, Tuscarawas Philharmonic, Lakeside Symphony, Ohio Valley Symphony, North Charleston Pops, and Whiting Park Festival Orchestra.

In 2016, she played the role of Ms. Garland in the first U.S. professional regional production of The Boy From Oz. In addition to touring the country with shows she co- created (Gershwin On the Air and others), Joan has played classic leading-lady roles including Julie in Carousel, Nellie in South Pacific, Lizzie in 110 in the Shade, and Eliza in My Fair Lady (in concert). Her critically-acclaimed second album, “Retrophonic Gershwin” (2015), was recorded at Oberlin's Clonick Hall.

She earned an M.M.T. and a bachelor’s of music in Voice from Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Early musical highlights while growing up in Iowa included singing for Liza Minnelli when she came to town. She serves as Teacher of Popular Voice at The Cleveland Institute of Music and for the Cleveland Playhouse/Case Western Reserve University M.F.A. Acting program, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. 

Nora Willauer is a sought-after performer and teacher, whose career began in Midcoast Maine, often on the stage of the Camden Opera House. Some of her first memories are of performing in Charlotte’s Web, La Boheme, and as a munchkin in the Wizard of Oz.

Nora is currently pursuing a doctoral degree program at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Dr. Melissa Kraut. Nora holds a master’s degree in Cello Performance and Pedagogy, and a Professional Studies Certificate from CIM. She serves as cello faculty at the University of Akron and maintains a private teaching studio. This past summer she taught at Interlochen Center for the Arts.

In addition to touring with Joan Ellison, Nora can be found performing in Cleveland with the Cleveland Pops, as well as various chamber groups from CIM.

Nora believes that musicians have the power to change our world through projects that challenge and inspire audiences. This belief has guided her work over the past decade as a Teaching Artist Educator for Documentary Songwriters, an internationally recognized non- profit organization from Rockport, Maine that is devoted to bearing witness through authentic songwriting based on spoken word stories. Nora currently runs Documentary Songwriting programming at Oberlin College and Conservatory, and contributes to on- going work writing and performing songs co-written with domestic violence survivors across the country.

As a teacher, Nora leans on her multidisciplinary background to create a well-rounded curriculum that gives her students a strong technical foundation, helps them develop convincing musical ideas, and also sets them up to excel in our rapidly changing world. Musicians today need to not only be excellent players—they need to be able to communicate effectively, market themselves, and create exciting new projects that will help shape the future of music.

Ohio native Shane Schag received his Bachelor of Arts from the Ashland University of Ohio, and his master’s degree in Collaborative Piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2001, he received his Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music. He has performed in recital both as soloist and ensemble performer throughout the United States and Europe, including a concerto performance with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. He has won several awards and scholarships including the Gwendolyn Koldofsky Memorial Award, which was given to “a musician who demonstrated outstanding professionalism in collaborative piano.” He has worked in the capacity of vocal coach for Centro Studi Italiani Opera Festival, and as an assistant conductor for the Gotham Chamber Opera. In 2007, Mr. Schag made his debut at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall), and now he serves as staff pianist for Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers concert series, which reaches out to public schools across the tri-state area, and the Lotte Lenya Competition in Rochester, New York. Also, he is the Music Director for the American Musical Theater Ensemble at the Manhattan School of Music, and is on the faculty of Operaworks in Los Angeles.