Ellen has appeared with the Carmel Bach Festival since 1998.​

Ellen is principal oboe of the Grand Rapids Symphony. She was formerly principal cor anglais with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and principal oboe of the Memphis and Virginia symphonies. She was a past participant at the Santa Fe Chamber Music, Schleswig-Holstein and served on the faculty at The Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music and The Round Top Festival Institute. Ellen toured Europe with the Utah Symphony in April 2005 and was a guest in 2014. She holds degrees from The Juilliard School (MM) and the New England Conservatory of Music (BM), and has recorded for the Koch, New World, Sterophile and Naxos labels.