Elizabeth is a modern and baroque violist currently based in Seattle, Washington. She can be seen performing with various groups such as the Seattle Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, the Federal Way Symphony, and in the Fever Candlelight Concerts. In addition to classical engagements, she has enjoyed playing alongside pop legends such as Miss Lauryn Hill and Smokey Robinson. Elizabeth had the great honor of joining the experimental electronic duo, Odesza, on their most recent national tour, which included three sold out nights at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Both her musical studies and performances have given her opportunities to play around the globe. In addition to performing and composing, she is a dedicated teacher of viola, violin, and piano. She has been working with students of all ages since 2014 and her love for teaching and sharing the joy of music has only increased since she began.
Growing up in Seattle, Elizabeth Boardman began studying piano at age four and viola, under the instruction of Michael Lieberman, at age nine. When she was fourteen, she began studying with Michael Lim, Principal of the Corigliano Quartet and Concertmaster of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra.
In 2013, Elizabeth completed her BMus Viola Performance (Honours) degree at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, where she studied with Violist Matthew Jones. She also received masterclass tutelage from Maxim Rysanov, Helen Callus, Rivka Golani, and Illan Schneider. In 2010, she was awarded the Bank/Kurtz Viola Prize. As a founding member of the Trafalgar Trio, she has taken part in numerous chamber music concert series throughout England. In the spring of 2013, Elizabeth was selected to be a part of the K12 collaboration project with the Krakow Academy, performing as the violist of the chamber orchestra in Britten’s War Requiem in Poland.
Elizabeth completed her Master of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with the esteemed Jodi Levitz. During this time she also developed a love for historical performance and baroque music, studying baroque viola with the world-renowned baroque violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock. In 2017, she won the SFCM Baroque Concerto Competition and had the opportunity to perform the Telemann Viola Concerto with the SFCM Baroque Ensemble. While in the Bay Area she performed with the American Bach Soloists Festival and also with the American Baroque Orchestra.
While her focus is primarily on viola performance, she has also studied composition with Stephen Montague. One of her compositions was chosen by the Xperides Ensemble for a performance in the Sede de Arucas Festival, Canary Islands in 2011. Her most recent work was a film score for a film noire adaption of the gothic novel, The Monk. She is currently composing a collection of sound poems for multiple violas called the Seascape Suite, inspired by tidal nature of her native Pacific Northwest.
Elizabeth moved to Berlin, Germany in 2018 and worked there for four years as a freelancing baroque and modern violist, as well as a pop singer-songwriter. While in Berlin, she released an album with her first band, White Night, which included songs that were nominated by the German Songwriting Awards. In 2022 she released her first solo pop album “Mine” going by the artist name Ela Ira. Some of her highlights as a classical performer in Berlin included touring with the Berliner Camerata in Norway, premiering contemporary pieces at Savvy Contemporary Berlin, performing early music in the Alte Musik Fest Friedenauer, and winning the Neustart Kultur Deutchemusikrat Grant to complete her composition for viola and dancers.
For inquires about Elizabeth as a performer or teacher, feel free to reach out through the “contact” page.