Ella Grace is a performer, composer, and educator based in Chicago, where she recently won the Chicago Music Scene Fellowship to fund her upcoming debut album as a leader. Born in Georgia and raised in Minnesota, Ella moved to Chicago in 2021, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from DePaul University in 2025. Heralded by the Twin Cities Jazz Festival as "ultra-talented," Ella performs frequently throughout the Midwest both as a side-woman and bandleader with her original compositions. In 2024, Ella became the first female trumpeter to tour with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, expanding her reach from national to international.

Ella’s musical upbringing began in Minnesota. There she studied with Steve Strand, Prince's longtime lead trumpeter and played in the state’s salient youth honors jazz ensembles including Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands, Minnesota All-State Jazz Band under the direction of Patty Darling, and the Dakota Combo under the direction of Michael Cain. In high school, Ella began leading a combo and performing professionally around the Twin Cities after placing second for top-division combos at the Eau Claire Jazz Festival. During her senior year of high school, Ella studied music full-time at the University of Minnesota with Marissa Benedict, Dean Sorenson, and Phil Hey, performing in the university's top jazz combo and big band as well as in classical ensembles.

Continuing her education at DePaul University, Ella won the 2024 Jazz Education Network Jamey Aebersold Endowed Scholarship as well as the 2025 Jazz Education Network Conference Sites Grant.

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Aside from performing and composing, Ella dabbles in music production and songwriting, some of which you can hear on her Spotify, Apple Music, or any other music streaming service. Ella is passionate about furthering gender equity in jazz and recently completed an academic research project on the subject, which won the first place Sloane Prize in Undergraduate Research at the 2024 National Collegiate Honors Conference. She also enjoys jazz journalism and you can find some of her writing on Substack. To learn more about what Ella is up to, sign up for her weekly newsletter here!