PaviElle French, voice instructor, joined the MacPhail faculty in 2019. She comes from an artistic family steeped in the Rondo neighborhood of Saint Paul, MN. She began performing at 5 years old in 1989. Soon after, she received vocal and piano training at Walker West Music Academy. She vocally trained with City Songs and then attended Mississippi Creative Arts School. In her teen years, she received formal acting and theater element training from Penumbra Theatre. As a youth, she had the honor to work with some special global artists such as Maya Angelou, John Denver, and Manheim Steamroller to name a few.
Her distinctive musical voice is described as a dynamic, soulful tonality…with a fearless jazz based improvisational scat technique, a powerful range from tenor to soprano with rhythmic Hip Hop-style delivery. She has won awards such as the Sage and an Emmy for choreography/dance and a documentary on her life and career. As an artist focused on Black/POCI/LGBTQIA communities, she speaks truth to power in her original work. She mentors young artists in the Twin Cities as she had mentors growing up and feels it’s her duty as an artist with a platform to be a voice.
She is an interdisciplinary artist, Emmy Award, and Sage Award winner. Ms. French is Minneapolis City Pages “Best R&B Vocalist of 2015.” As a Voice-Over artist, she has done national commercials for Pepsi and Boston Market. She has two documentaries, TPT’s “Lowertown Line,”(2015) and “MN Original” (2019). She has written and performed two one-woman shows: Runnin’ (2014); Ovarian Fortitude (2016). She is a recipient of the ACF Create Grant and received a commission by The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, writing a symphony about her Mom’s service to the Rondo Community entitled, “A Requiem For Zula,”(2019). PaviElle began her career as a child with City Songs, Penumbra Theatre Company and SteppingStone.