Arkansas Tech University senior Lexie Ellis doesn’t just hear the music she makes. She feels it.
“I like how singing uses your whole body and your whole body is involved in it,” said Ellis, who is a mezzo-soprano. “It’s an artform that comes purely from yourself with no external forces. I didn’t understand how physical singing was until I got to college. When I took lessons from Mrs. (Holly Ruth) Gale and Dr. (Barbara) Clements, I began to understand how much breathing is involved in singing and how much I needed to correct my breathing. You use your whole upper torso for breath, and that is supported by your posture, by the way you stand, how you use your head…it’s all involved. I like how physical it is.”
Ellis proved that she has learned her lessons well earlier this month when she won the 2025 ATU Solo Competition for vocal performance sponsored by the ATU Department of Music.
“Die Forelle” by Franz Schubert, “Young Love in Spring” by Margaret Bonds and “Faites-lui mes aveux” by Charles Gounod are the pieces Ellis performed during the ATU Solo Competition. She said she chose those pieces because of the variety they provided.
“I didn’t go into this competition with the mindset of really wanting to win,” said Ellis. “The choir world is about us. It’s something we do together. That’s something I really value, but it’s nice to go off and do something by yourself. It’s good to know I’m a good musician with a group, and I’m a good musician without a group.”
Ellis is from Bryant and grew up singing in church. When it came time for her to select a university, Arkansas Tech was not on her list until she made a campus visit late in her evaluation process.
“I just really fell in love with the choir community here,” said Ellis, who will graduate from Arkansas Tech with a bachelor’s degree in vocal music education in December 2025. “It was really welcoming. They all came up to me and spoke to me. That wasn’t the case at other schools I visited. The people at Arkansas Tech really got to know me before I was even a student here.”
Ellis said that one-on-one time with her voice teacher, Dr. Barbara Clements, and the other members of the ATU music faculty is the greatest strength of her ATU experience.
“She knows me,” said Ellis of Clements. “I’m not just a student who comes in once a week and we sing through the music. We spend our time getting to know each other. It’s the same way with the choir. I’ve really gotten to know Dr. (Katie) Rohwer this past year. They know who you are, and it’s the same with all the other music professors. You have the same faculty members all four years here, and that’s what I really enjoy.”
