Detroit metropolitan native Carmen Woodruff is thrilled to return to her hometown to share her journey and experiences with the talented students at DIME after performing and studying throughout the United States and around the globe. Carmen specializes in teaching and performing many styles of contemporary music with an emphasis on jazz. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and her Master of Music in Contemporary Vocal Performance on the Berklee College of Music’s Valencia, Spain campus-where she was selected to serve as the student commencement speaker-followed by a post master’s fellowship on the Berklee College of Music’s Boston campus. In culmination, she premiered the second installment of her ongoing creative project at the Boston Conservatory: a self-written, self-produced one-woman show in tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.
Carmen’s experience spans more than two decades and has led her to South Africa, Germany, China, the Netherlands, Belgium and most recently Spain, where she’s played a part in festivals, clinics, corporate events and productions. Stateside, Carmen’s honed her skills at the Detroit International Jazz Festival, Busch Gardens, Walt Disney World, Lakewood Church and the U.S. Coast Guard, learning from the greats, including Motown’s Martha Reeves, Ursula Walker, Sunny Wilkinson and New York Voices’ Peter Eldridge, sharing the stage with Greg Hopkins, Straight Ahead, Marlena Shaw, Don and Alicia Cunningham and many of today’s top names in jazz and contemporary music. Carmen also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked for many years as a publicist in the entertainment industry before pursuing her passion for music. In addition to DIME, she works as a communications consultant and vocal coach, inspiring students of all ages and levels online and in-person.
