bio

elias wolf (formerly Lisa Forkish – they/them) is a heart-forward, moon-guided and water-bound love warrior, vocal sorcerer, and song witch—part performer, part composer, part teacher, part community weaver. elias creates music and shared singing experiences described as “re-humanizing queer song magic for the revolution.” Practicing interdependence, interconnection and radical joy through harmony-singing, teaching and facilitating music spaces is much more than a job: it is a sacred calling. elias works with song as an artistic discipline while maintaining its capacity for profound personal and interpersonal healing; their ultimate aim in life is to uplift music for personal and collective liberation. An artist deeply attuned to collective presence, elias facilitates with warmth, grace and humor, whether it be at a festival with hundreds of participants, diving deep with 12 singers, or finding tenderness in a 1:1 session.

Over the course of their 20+ year career, elias has been at the helm of over 15 choirs and vocal groups, including 5-time national champion high school a cappella group Vocal Rush, powerhouse vocal quintet HIVE, and intergenerational queer vocal groups HomoPhonic and Queer Choir. elias is also an award-winning vocal arranger, and their work has been showcased alongside Kehlani, Ben Harper, Pentatonix and the Oakland Symphony Chorus. From ‘11-’20, elias served as Vocal Music Faculty at Oakland School for the Arts where they founded and directed five-time national champion high school a cappella group, Vocal Rush. Known for their unique arrangements, uplifting performances and commitment to music for social change, Vocal Rush took third place on NBCʻs reality competition show “The Sing-Off” and was named one of the “YBCA 100” alongside artists and activists Janelle Monae, Rafael Casal and #metoo movement founder, Tarana Burke. elias’ tenure as director of University of Oregon’s a cappella group Divisi from ‘03-’06 was the inspiration for the film “Pitch Perfect” and from ’12-’19 they stewarded a 501(c)(3) arts advocacy organization devoted to uplifting marginalized voices in the vocal music scene and producing an annual festival at Berkeley’s iconic venue and education center, The Freight. elias is the recipient of the Mason McDuffie Education Foundation Award for “Outstanding Educator” and Portland’s “Songwriter of the Year” award, and they passionate about creating intergenerational singing spaces for queer, trans and gender-expansive singers.

As a solo artist, elias’ music is a molten blend of soaring melody, lush harmonies, and lyric truth-telling that refuses to flinch. Writing with blood, breath, and devotion, elias weaves layers of dissonant vocals with lyricism forged in the fire of their own loving, grieving, healing and transformation. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, elias has six albums to their name including their most recent EP sovereign soul: a sonic sanctuary born during a year of profound unraveling and becoming. A performer of 25+ years, elias has shared the stage with Bobby McFerrin, k.d. lang, Sigur Rós and Coldplay, and has performed at storied venues including SFJAZZ Center, Carnegie Hall, Yoshi’s and Lincoln Center. elias identifies identifies as a genderqueer white-bodied witch with the superpowers of ADHD and high sensitivity, as well as the gifts of being a Cancerian water creature. elias is currently a settler on unceded Kalapuya land (Eugene, OR) where they live with their fur babies—Wally, Willow and Venus—and their Yamaha upright piano. They continue to weave threads of love and liberation through song.

Elias Wolf CV