Carla is an award-winning pianist, innovator, coach, arts administrator and educator whose mission is to foster an unshakeable sense of wholeness, connection, and aliveness—both within individuals and among communities—through the soul-affirming power of the arts. . She is known throughout Austin as the co-founder and Executive/Artistic director of the Austin-based collective Revel, where she produced and performed in over a hundred concerts while managing operations and securing funding for twelve concert seasons, six summer festivals, and three recording projects from 2009-2020. At KMFA Classical 89.5, she was the on-air host of Night Music, and was appointed Director of Creative Learning and Artistic Director of the Draylen Mason Music Studio, supporting educational initiatives and development efforts as KMFA transitioned from its longtime headquarters in Central Austin to its custom-built forever home at The Hatchery in East Austin.

Carla’s passion for music became evident early on; she gave her first public recital at the age of three, and was a top prize-winner in numerous competitions throughout her youth. She continued her musical studies at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating from UT with her Doctor of Musical Arts degree, Carla joined the piano faculty there and went on to earn a tenured faculty post at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory in Ohio before returning to the fertile creative climate of Austin to co-create Revel.

As a pianist, Carla’s playing has been recognized by the Austin Critics’ Table, praised by the Austin American-Statesman as exhibiting “infectious enthusiasm,” commended by the Austin Chronicle as delivering “an exciting mix of focus and passion,” and described in the Chronicle’s 2019 “A Guide to Classical Music” as “absorbing and exhilarating.” She can be heard on several recordings, including Conspirare’s Grammy-nominated albums, The Hope of Loving and House of Belonging.

As co-founder and Executive/Artistic director of the Austin-based nonprofit arts organization Revel, McElhaney produced and performed in over a hundred concerts while managing operations and securing funding for twelve concert seasons, six summer festivals, and three recording projects. At KMFA Classical 89.5, she was the on-air host of Night Music, and was appointed Director of Creative Learning and Artistic Director of the Draylen Mason Music Studio, supporting educational initiatives and development efforts as KMFA transitioned from its longtime headquarters in Central Austin to its custom-built forever home at The Hatchery in East Austin.

An active performing artist, McElhaney has appeared widely on series such as Albuquerque’s Chatter, Blanco Performing Arts, Ojai’s Krotona Institute, Costa Rica’s Credomatic Music Festival, and has collaborated with many Austin-based ensembles, organizations, and artists including, the Austin Chamber Music Center, the Austin Saxophone Ensemble, Chorus Austin, Invoke, LOLA, VAMP Vocals, and more. Her recording credits include collaborations with cellist Joel Becktell, saxophonists Todd Yukumoto and Todd Oxford, and two GRAMMY®-nominated albums with Conspirare: The Hope of Loving (Delos, 2019), and House of Belonging featuring the Miró Quartet (Delos, 2023).

Carla earned degrees in piano performance from Eastman School of Music (B.M. 1989) and The University of Texas at Austin (M.M. 1992, D.M.A. 1998). She currently serves on the board of Austin’s One World, One Music Series. A dedicated teacher, she has taught for nearly three decades, both privately and as a faculty member at The University of Texas at Austin, Baldwin Wallace University, Texas Lutheran University, and the Austin-based community arts collective, Studio A.