Educator/ Education

"A consummate musician with a superb voice."                                                                                        allaboutjazz.com

Currently teaching at Philadelphia's University of the Arts as a voice teacher on the School of Music's faculty since 2007. Also teaching voice at Community College of Philadelphia since 2010.An alumna, herself, of UArts (formerly Philadelphia College of Performing Arts) she earned an Associates Degree in Vocal Performance with Highest Honors from Community College of Philadelphia and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey.

Mary Ellen Desmond has been performing professionally in the Philadelphia / New Jersey area for the past 20 plus years. She has also performed engagements in Japan. Classically trained she is recognized as a crossover artist covering a variety of styles and repertoires with a primary focus on jazz standards and the American Songbook.

About Mary Ellen Desmond

Venues   Philadelphia / PA / NJ

Tavern On The Green NYC

Paris Bistro

Paris Wine Bar

Chris' Jazz Cafe                                                               Restaurant L2

Swann Lounge @ The Four Seasons Hotel               Paradiso

Showboat Casino                                                            Omni Hotel

William Douglas Steakhouse                                       Kunkel's Steakhouse

Tavern 17 @ The Warwick Hotel                                 Bistro St. Tropez

Varalli Restaurant                                                          Ortlieb's Jazz Haus

Capital Grille                                                                   Cutillo's...

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"She's a first class singer you really must hear."       

                  Philadelphia PRESS/REVIEW

"Singer Mary Ellen Desmond:

the most refreshing sound in jazz."                             Jazztimes

Performer

She can be heard singing at area clubs, concerts, churches, and for private functions with accompanists ranging from pianists Tom Lawton, Lucas Brown, Bill Schilling, and Patrick Fink to guitarists Mike Kennedy and Kevin Hanson, bassist Lee Smith, and tenor sax great Larry McKenna.

"Desmond has worked all over town. Her vocal renditions are captivating  and remind one that 'it is the singer, not the song'."                          

                                                                                                                 Philadelphia METRO

Community  Outreach

She is active as a program and music coordinator for fundraising concerts to benefit lives affected by AIDS / HIV - her self-conceived annual Comfort & Joy Holiday Jazz Concert each December, and A Tribute to Billie Holiday Concert benefiting Mercy Hospice and the Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany in Philadelphia.

"Jazz at St. Luke's - a perfect match of music & place."                 

                     Vic Schermer  allaboutjazz.com

Repertoire

"First rate jazz balladry."     CADENCE Magazine

The Great American Songbook, and beyond, featuring composers and lyricists from Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, George & Ira Gershwin, and Duke Ellington to Thelonious Monk,  Abbey Lincoln and Tadd Dameron. Mary Ellen also possesses a classical repertoire including operatic arias, art songs, and sacred music.