Alumni and Supporters

Stella Kelly

Performer. Business Owner. YAN Executive Committee Member.
Bachelor of Music Honours, 2021

Perfectionism can often be the enemy of progress, according to seasoned performer, WAAPA graduate and dedicated Young Alumni Network Executive Committee member, Stella Kelly.

“You never feel ready as a performer. You're always growing and you're always changing, so there's no need to be a perfectionist. If an opportunity arises, just take it and give it your best shot and see where it leads.”

It’s a valuable lesson for us all to learn: to seize every opportunity. If Stella had listened to that inner voice we all have that questions our readiness or abilities, then her ‘pinch-me’ moments of performing in front of sporting legends the Matildas and Sam Kerr, as well as 60,000 people at the first AFL Origin game hosted in WA in 27 years, along with the many other remarkable opportunities Stella has experienced over the past decade, may never have happened.

“We think, ‘I could never play like that jazz performer who is 60’. Well, no, because you’re 17. They’ve been doing it for 40 or 50 years. But you can give it a go.’

It’s this positive ‘can-do’ attitude that has fundamentally shaped Stella’s outstanding musical career. From the tender age of 11, Stella has made the most of every opportunity that’s presented itself, whether it’s accepting the somewhat ill-fitting classical music scholarship at high school that introduced her to Jazz and her first choir, or immediately agreeing to sing the National Anthem at the AFL semi-finals with just a few days’ notice to prepare.

It’s this ‘give-it-your-best-go’ attitude that led Stella to jump at the chance to broaden her horizons as part of an exchange placement between WAAPA and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.

“I was so lucky that ECU and WAAPA organised (the exchange) for me. It was really amazing. I was the first person ever to do it as well. (Royal Northern College of Music) would send me to conferences in London, like BBC conferences, and I met James Bay and all these other amazing artists.”

It’s not just Stella’s innate talent and drive that shine through, but perhaps more importantly her ability to make the most of every opportunity by creating meaningful connections with everyone she meets from her cohort-turned-colleagues, to the wedding guests she sings for, and the students, young and old, she trains. People are drawn to her because of her warm and engaging personality, as well as the professional outlook she brings to everything she does.

‘The best contractor is someone who maintains really great relationships with their clients and is really easy to work with. [This involves] being on time, communicating really clearly, and just being really friendly and easy to work with. That is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned and stuck to’

Stella also recognises the importance of staying connected to her fellow WAAPA graduates and the wider ECU community, extending her network to colleagues who can offer support in a multitude of ways, from those she performs alongside in wedding trios, to fellow alumni she meets at ECU alumni events, each with different specialisms that can aid her in her professional development.

In Stella’s case, she recalls how the Chair of Young Alumni Network, Kamaria, recommended marketing conferences that helped her launch her passion project, Event Cloud, which supports local creatives by connecting them with new clients and ensuring timely invoicing and payments.

It’s this spirit of collaboration and support from others in the Young Alumni Network that has led Stella to champion the topic of our next event, a dedicated panel focused on branding and business operations, Branding for Success. Her natural ability to captivate a crowd, plus passion for collaboration and the ECU community, has made her the natural choice of panel MC:

‘ECU is amazing because they genuinely want to help their graduates; they want to connect people… Why not meet, great, like-minded people, connect with them and have more job opportunities?’

If you graduated in the last 10 years or are under 35, you can also make the most of our supportive, Young Alumni Network. Catch Stella at the Branding for Success panel event this May at ECU’s newly opened City Campus.