Early management, festivals (1990–1995) In 1990 Elder began representing American actor
Woody Harrelson. A year later she helped direct and produce the
Halloween ABC Special – Woody Harrelson on
ABC, one of her first television jobs. Also in 1990 she began working with
Mike Love from
The Beach Boys, and two years later she started managing his son Christian Love and his musical group Alex's Cane. She also worked for
Arlo Guthrie on a two-year project. She was a co-producer for the 2012 compilation album
Desert Sunsets: World Fusion Rhythm & Grooves. In 2013 Elder adapted the lyrics for the Arabic version of "
White Rabbit" on the
American Hustle Soundtrack, bringing in then-unknown vocalist
Mayssa Karaa to sing the main line. Song producer
Mark Batson has suggested using non-English lyrics, and the film's music supervisor contacted Elder. The album went on to be nominated for a
Grammy Award for best compilation soundtrack. In 2012 Elder and Sam Nappi founded World Harmony Studios-DE Music Records in New York and California. That year Elder brought together Voices of Afghanistan, an Afghan ensemble featuring vocalist
Ustad Farida Mahwash,
rubab master Homayoun Sakhi, and The Sakhi Ensemble. The group focuses on contemporary music and "a blend of
ghazals, Afghan folk songs imbued with
Sufi mysticism." They had their first tour in the fall of 2012, and performed at The One World Concert, which was opened by the
Dalai Lama. The group's 2013 debut album,
Love Songs for Humanity, was recorded with Elder and Sam Nappi at World Harmony Studios, and Elder helped compose several of the tracks. According to
NPR,
Love Songs for Humanity "is a mix of Central Asian art music, folklore and classic popular songs."
Recent projects (2014–2016) As of 2014, Elder was developing several new festivals, along with continued work with artists including
Assala Nasri,
Simon Shaheen,
Kadim Al Sahir,
Alphonso Johnson, Bassam Saba & the New York Arab Orchestra,
Ustad Farida Mahwash, Voices of Afghanistan,
Enzo Avitabile, Amina,
Souad Massi, and others. In May, she collaborated with Quincy Jones on the Global Gumbo Group in Association with Dawn Elder music group. The group performed in
Morocco with musicians such as
Siedah Garrett,
Naturally 7,
Patti Austin,
Alfredo Rodriguez,
Paulinho da Costa,
Richard Bona and
Lionel Loueke. As of 2014 she is working, writing and producing two new albums and an event for MasterPeace featuring international celebrities. She was the international talent advisor to the MasterPeace concert that year, and Dawn Elder World Entertainment produced the event, bringing in artists such as Riffat Sultana, Assala Nasri, Andy to perform on September 21, 2014. In 2014, Elder and Hanin Omar co-wrote the Arabic adaptation of the
Bob Seger song "
Turn the Page." The song was performed at the
Concert of Colors at
Orchestra Hall in Detroit, on July 7, 2014. In 2015, she created the concept for and "masterminded" the When Music Matters concert as the finale of the larger
Abu Dhabi Festival, an
arts festival and
cultural festival that "aims to promote cross-cultural understanding and support regional cultural production." Serving as artistic and music producer for the event, she booked artists such as
Marcus Nand to perform the concerts, as well as a variety of
world music artists. In 2016 she co-wrote the track "Only Human," recorded by musician Ty Waters, along with Waters, Michael Jay, and Randy Waldman. Elder recorded and produced the track along with others such as Waldman and Kenny Aronoff. Waters had previously graduated from the Ultimate Vocal Music Summit. ==Ultimate Vocal Music Summit==