Chanell Childers

A Philadelphia native, Chanell Childers is a singer, teacher, musician, and mentor. At a very young age, she was exposed to music of all genres by her parents. At six, Chanell studied classical piano, followed by three years of acting at Freedom Theater in Philadelphia, PA. While at Freedom Theater, she discovered that she also had the gift of singing. She was told by many of her teachers that her voice was beyond her time. With this newfound talent, Chanell’s parents decided to have her study classical voice at Settlement Music School. While attending Philadelphia High School for Girls, Chanell was the first student in school history to receive a standing ovation and an encore at the age of 14. With this confirmation from her peers, she decided from that day on that she would share her God-given talents with the world through music.

Chanell holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music (Voice) from Clark Atlanta University. At CAU she had the opportunity to study jazz with James Patterson, Director of the Clark Atlanta University Jazz Orchestra. Chanell’s experience with the CAU Jazz Orchestra gave her the chance to interact and perform with and open for legends like Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Kirk Whalum, Roberta Flack, Ramsey Lewis, Jon Faddis, James Moody, Ernestine Anderson, Jeffery Osbourne, Roy Hargrove, Lalah Hathaway, Take 6, Nnenna Freelon, and Gregory Porter.

Chanell is the lead vocalist of the Clark Atlanta University Alumni Jazz Orchestra. She has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Montreux, Switzerland), Umbria Jazz Festival (Umbria, Italy), North Sea Jazz Festival (Den Haag, Netherlands), and the Jazz Vienne Festival (Vienne, France). She also received a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from The University of Miami. Chanell currently gigs around town and is also an Elementary Music Teacher with the DeKalb County School District. She also teaches private voice and piano lessons. This is Chanell’s twelfth year teaching Atlanta Music Project as the Choral Conductor of the Preparatory Chorus. Chanell believes that educating young people, both musicians and non-musicians, has propelled her advocacy for social change through their growth and development.