Elise sings and plays the piano, flute, bass flute, and melodica. She is the founder and director of Capital Vox, which has been heralded as Canada's first community jazz choir. She creates the arrangements for the choir. Elise heads the voice department at Alcorn Music Studios, where she enjoys a diverse voice and piano instruction practice. She directed the recent mass choir event A Sacred Jazz Choral Summit, working closely with special guest Reverend-pianist Tim Elliott, and she was an integral part of this year's Jazz in the Cathedral presentation at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa. Until recently, she directed the Big Soul Project, a community gospel/groove choir. Elise has taught songwriting workshops, voice workshops, and piano classes at the college/university level.

She has an active performance schedule, and can be heard at venues throughout Ottawa. She is the music director at Cafe Paradiso, one of Ottawa's finest jazz/dinner venues, and performs there weekly. Other performing includes Vineyards Wine Bar & Bistro, Diwali, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, various summer concert series, and private/corporate functions.

Elise was selected for inclusion on the Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour artist roster, and has performed throughout the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and throughout Ontario.

Her recordings include a CD of jazz standards and poetry called Pas de Deux with pianist Harry Pickens, and a CD of original songs called I Will Sing for You, both on the Peace Café Records label. Additional writing includes co-authoring The Stage Fright Handbook with Tim Bedner, published articles about songwriting and singing, as well as a poetry book called To Flirt With Words.

Elise has worked as a staff vocalist and voiceover artist, recording commercial jingles for Audio Image Marketing, as well as other production companies.

In addition to songwriting, Elise composes and arranges choral and piano works, has written commercials and theme music for cable TV, and was commissioned to compose music for an original dance production. Currently, her creative work includes commissions, composing a jazz mass, a series of choral compositions based on poetry by Rumi, creating material for an album of solo voice works, as well as composing and arranging for both vocal and flute choirs.

Elise has a Bachelor of Music degree (Contemporary Composition & Arranging) from Berklee College of Music in Boston MA, and her Master of Education Degree (Creative Arts & Learning) from Lesley College in Cambridge MA. Elise has extensive experience in composing, arranging, workshop presentation, directing, teaching and performing.

Elise has performed and recorded with a variety of artists including saxophonist Oliver Lake, pianist Harry Pickens, drummer Roger Humphries, Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Janet Lawson, performance-poet Huang Xiang, jazzman Bob Dorough, and singer-songwriter Paula Cole.

Elise lives in the Ottawa area with her husband, guitarist Tim Bedner, and their little dog Sadie Daisy Mae. Her other passions in life include custom hand-knitwear design, and creating miniature graphical paintings based on traditional quilt pattern designs.