Elena Cobb always wanted to inspire young pianists with a diverse and contemporary repertoire. ‘It all started as the result of a single melody which popped into my head and wouldn’t leave until I wrote it down in Sibelius.’ Described as both an entrepreneur and a creative, Elena sought to empower young performers to express themselves through music which teaches both emotional subtleties and builds strong technical foundations and in 2016, she founded EVC Music.
Elena Cobb
Elena’s vision and dedication to contemporary music led to the creation of an exciting educational catalogue from a fascinating mix of performance and educational piano pieces to Jazz, Pop and Rock, Classical Contemporary and Minimalist styles for pianists from beginner to advanced levels. Teachers and pianists can even find Celtic music, Improvisatory music, and titles with play-along tracks.
EVC’s classical composers includes Mark Goddard, Andrew Higgins, Elena Cobb, Donald Thomson, Graham Lynch, Lindsey Berwin Irina Nenartovich, Nancy Litten, Victoria Proudler and Hywel Davies. Minimalist composers include Paul Birchall and Melanie Spanswick. Jazz, Pop and Rock include Nikki Iles, Sam Wedgwood, Philip Martin, Heather Hammond, Elena Cobb, Paul Birchall, Victoria Proudler, Alexandra Vilcinska and Pam & Ollie Wedgwood.
If you’ve ever wondered where you know her from, her educational titles feature on major exam boards worldwide. Those even come extra-help books to support students at all levels in their journey to personal and musical achievements!
Elena Cobb with Lang Lang and the winners of the Music Teacher Magazine Editor’s Award at MusicExpo Awards 2019.
Elena Cobb With Alanna Crouch and Craig Terry in 2017 at Steinway Hall, London. Alanna, who studied piano using EVC’s methods and repertoire and achieved a Distinction for the ABRSM Diploma, is now also a budding composer!
In addition to EVC, Cobb founded the Elena Cobb Star Prize Festival, an annual two-day festival and showcase held at the Royal Albert Hall. The 2022 festival will be held on May 22-23, 2022 and will feature a spectacular lineup of living composers including Nikki Iles, Sam Wedgwood, and Heather Hammond. This year, young pianists will perform EVC’s music in what promises to be an exciting event for educators, parents and students alike.
‘It’s true that as a businessperson, I created the EVC brand, founded a festival at the Royal Albert Hall, learnt how to engrave a score and use Photoshop. I built my website (www. elenacobb.com) entirely on my own and I maximized the UX experience for my customers. Whichever part of my character is bigger, the entrepreneur or the creative, my work is proof that it’s possible to develop both sides and to deliver outstanding musical repertoire by the living composers I’m so proud to represent.’
Check out EVC’s catalogue now!
EVC Pieces in the Major Exam Boards
Shark Soup by Sam Wedgwood
Sam Wedgwood’s Jazz Piano in Piano Syllabus Grade 4, List C, 2021-2022
I’m Late by Nikki Iles (forthcoming), Wendy Bird by Nikki Iles (forthcoming and Piano Tales for Peter Pan) in Trinity Piano Grade 4 2020-2023
Polka Butterfly by Elena Cobb
from Piano Tales for Alice and Higgledy Piggledy Jazz Piano
The Cheshire Cat by Nikki Iles
from Piano Tales for Alice in Classical Piano Syllabus Grade 2
The Cheshire Cat by Nikki Iles
from Piano Tales for Alice in Piano Grade 2 Handbook 2021
Lost Boys Blues by Nikki Iles
in Classical Piano Syllabus Grade 3
EVC Collections With Audio
Several editions were created to encourage pianists to practice with play-along tracks which serve two excellent educational objectives: to learn to play with a steady beat; and not to be alone at the instrument during practice time … even the band is recorded! These collections include professionally created play-along tracks that are available for streaming on the EVC website. The QR codes and passwords are provided with the books.
Higgledy Piggeldy Jazz for piano
Higgledy Piggeldy Jazz for alto sax
Higgledy Piggeldy Jazz for clarinet ensemble
Higgledy Piggeldy Jazz for classical guitar ensemble
Sam Wedgwood’s Project Jazz Piano
Sam Wedgwood’s Project Pop Piano
Next Level by Sam Wedgwood
Easy Christmas Piano Duets by Heather Hammond