For Topsfield resident Ella Maria Gutowski, music has been a lifelong companion — from a fourth-grade choir audition to performances of the Great American Songbook across the North Shore.

Her musical journey began at St. Paul’s Grammar School, where she auditioned with “My Country ’Tis of Thee” and sang in the choir through eighth grade. One especially vivid memory is a seventh-grade Christmas performance at New York’s Port Authority, when she stepped forward for a solo of “White Christmas.”

“With knees knocking and butterflies flying, I took a deep breath,” Ella remembers. “All these years later, I can still feel the rush of excitement — and the relief as I sang that last note.”

Music was already part of family life. One of seven children, Ella grew up in Ramsey, New Jersey, in a busy household filled with music. Her mother, Helen Murphy, was a gifted pianist who played songs from the Great American Songbook while young Ella practiced ballet nearby. Years later, mother and daughter would perform those same standards together — Helen at the keyboard in her 80s, Ella singing in her 50s.

“That was joyful,” Ella says.

Ella and her husband, Eric, moved to Topsfield in 1998 with their two young children. Soon afterward, she began cantoring at St. Rose of Lima. For 27 years, she has sung there with music director and pianist Susan Frontera, providing music for Masses, weddings, funerals and other milestones. Ella says Topsfield’s “peace, rural setting, wonderful neighbors and sense of community” have made it home for nearly three decades.

Her work as a jazz and standards vocalist began later, in her mid-50s. Ella describes herself as “a late bloomer,” but one who has kept blooming. She gradually built a repertoire of more than 200 songs from memory and, when lyrics occasionally escape her, relies on a performer’s creativity.

“You’d be surprised what I can lyrically ‘create’ in a moment of panic!” she jokes.

Over the years, Ella has performed with pianist Steve Hershman, with whom she has collaborated for about 25 years, and with the Shriners Swing Band, where she served as vocalist for eight years. Today, she and Hershman perform as The Dynamic Duo at private celebrations, assisted living communities, senior centers and local venues.

Among the relationships Ella treasures from her years of performing is her friendship with the late Dr. Vince Guerra, a well-known and respected member of the Topsfield community. For eight years, Ella sang alongside Vince on piano with the Shriners Swing Band, and the two also performed together at private functions throughout Topsfield. Ella remembers Vince not only as a talented musician, but as a dear friend whose music and friendship remain an important part of her own musical journey.

Ella also considers it an honor to sing at Topsfield’s Memorial Day and Veterans Day observances. Her father served in the Army during World War II, and her father-in-law served as a Merchant Marine in the Pacific.

Two songs are especially meaningful to her: “What a Wonderful World” and “Over the Rainbow,” which she often uses to close a performance.

“They speak of hope, fulfilled dreams, the beauty in the world, and the goodness of people,” she says.

On October 18, Ella & Company will perform the Great American Songbook at Methuen Memorial Music Hall. For Ella, the journey continues — one song, one audience and one memory at a time.