Visit ElaineOverholt.com

Elaine Overholt has established herself as one of North America’s most respected and treasured singers, voice coaches and vocal producers. She has instructed celebrities of music, film and stage, with an ability to coax magical performances from every type of singer. Her passionate ambition to understand the human voice and pass that knowledge on has inspired the creation of The Big Voice DVD with Warm-Up and Workout CD, which has gained international popularity.

Her musical talents and diverse musical background began as a young girl performing gospel music in her church choir and winning awards as a classical pianist. By the age of eleven she had worked to become the church organist and by fourteen she was the choir director. Her formal musical training continued at The University of Western Ontario as a Piano Performance major where she then switched majors, graduating with an honors degree in Voice Performance.  Despite the encouragement of her professors to pursue an operatic career, Elaine did what has been the hallmark of her career: she explored new musical frontiers. 

Stepping away from the world of opera, Elaine ventured into the pop, rock and theatre genres. Her performing career has allowed her the opportunity to work with titans of pop music; Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, Anne Murray and Chubby Checker among them. Ms. Overholt has performed as a soloist on world stages, major network television, albums, films, thousands of jingles and has recorded two albums and a No. 3 single on Billboard. These experiences exposed Elaine to the highs of performance and the difficulties of live shows and recording sessions. These performance skills and experiences contribute greatly in her endeavor to teach every kind of singer and result in a premier vocal coach.

Elaine’s gift for teaching is well known in Hollywood and Broadway. Elaine has coached Hollywood stars such as John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer for the movie Hairspray, along with Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, and Queen Latifah for the Oscar-winning Chicago. Recently Elaine also coached Ellen Degeneres in a live segment on her hit talk show The Ellen Degeneres Show. As a Broadway coach Elaine trained the singers in the lead roles of Broadway hits Hairspray, The Producers, Mamma Mia and Rent.  The diversity of Elaine’s career extends to the individuals she trains. Although she has worked with some of the most musically talented of a generation, she also brings out the best performance from those who are not known for their singing talents. Comedians, actors/actresses and dancers alike come to Elaine to find those hidden abilities. The San Francisco Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada sought out Elaine to teach their dancers to sing for their productions of the West Side Story Suite. Also, record labels such as Universal, Capitol/EMI, Sony/BMG and Virgin send their artists to Ms. Overholt where they learn to protect their voices, develop stamina, and craft their performances from beginning to end.

Elaine has the ability to coax magical performances from every type of singer. Her success is certainly due to her passionate ambition to understand the human voice and pass that knowledge on to her students. Whether it is onstage, in the studio or on the road, Elaine drives her students to connect with the unique and powerful voice that is in every one of us – our ‘big voice.’

2008-9         BIG VOICE (Pilot) - star and vocal coach to candidate
2008            How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria - CBC - all contestants
2007-8         The San Francisco National Ballet (West Side Story Suite) - full company
2007            REPO - The Genetic Opera starring Paris Hilton, Sarah Brightman
2007            The National Ballet of Canada (West Side Story Suite) - full company
2007            Hairspray Live Performance with Lead Actors - The Today Show - NBC
2007            Hairspray Live Performance with Lead Actors - OPRAH - Harpo
2007            Hairspray Live Press Performance with Lead Actors - Las Vegas, Nevada
2007            Celine Feature Film
2006            Hairspray Feature Film with John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer
2006            Charlie Bartlett starring Robert Downey Jr. 
2005-6         Canadian Idols Eva Avila, Kalan Porter, Melissa O’Neill, Rex Goudie
2005-6         Cheaper By The Dozen 2 - FOX Studios
2005            Shania the movie - CBC
2005            Getting Along Famously - CBC
2005            Gypsy - The Shaw Festival
2004            Hairspray - Mirvish Productions
2004            The Producers - Mirvish Productions and Broadway
2004            Cookin’ at the Cookery - Latimer/CanStage Productions
2003            Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen - Disney
2002            Chicago Feature Film - MIRAMAX Films
2000-01       Popstars - Global’s hit TV show
1997-8         Skinnamarink TV
1994            Live from Busch Gardens - CBS - Dick Clark Productions
1994            Candles, Snow & Mistletoe - CBC Variety Special
1992-95       Easter Seals Telethon - CBC
1994-2000   Mother’s Day Telethon - ON TV Hamilton