is thrilled to be making her debut at Brucemore and with Orchestra Iowa! An accomplished concert artist, Elena has sung on stages all over the world including The Royal Albert Hall in London with the Royal Philharmonic under the baton of Mr. David Charles Abell, and Carnegie Hall in New York City with the Orchestra of Saint Luke's under the baton of Kimberly Gribsby. She has also sung the role of Marian Paroo in The Music Man in Concert with the Pacific Symphony and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady in Concert with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and North Carolina Symphony through UIAPresents. Other symphony appearances include the Newport Symphony in Newport, Oregon, the Rochester Symphony Orchestra in Rochester, New York, and The Albany Symphony in Albany, NY. On Broadway, Elena has performed and starred in 8 Broadway shows. These shows and roles include Ottilie in The Visit, Anne in La Cage aux Folles, Bridges, The Woman in White, Fiddler... , Nine, Sweet Smell..., and Les Miserables. She has also starred in two Broadway National tours, playing Anna in the Lincoln Center tour of The King and I and Clara in The Light in the Piazza. Her theatre career began while still a student at NYU, at age 19 when she starred as Kathie in the famed operetta The Student Prince at North Shore Music Theatre. She has been performing ever since, and some of her favorite theater roles include: Mary in Mary Poppins, Mother in A Christmas Story, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Lili in Carnival!. Elena has also appeared in several television shows and films including NCIS: New Orleans, Conviction, Person of Interest, The Intern, Time After Time, and she portrayed Sister Sophia in NBC's Sound of Music Live! She is thrilled to be performing in person again after spending over a year singing from her living room on her Instagram TV channel, @elenashaddowofficial. Elena is also an accomplished voice teacher, with a degree in Music from NYU. She teaches both in person in New York City and New Jersey, and Virtually over Zoom. Her students hail from all corners of the USA including Hawaii, Oregon, California, Ohio, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida, and even across the pond in England. She is the mother of two amazing children, Addie and Liam, and is married to Michael Harrington, a Cedar Rapids native, Executive Director of TheaterworksUSA, and a fellow lifelong devotee to the arts. Visit her website, elenashaddow.net, for updates!
A native of Mississippi and a crossover artist of both opera and musical theater, Ezekiel Andrew enjoys a career of both excitement and versatility. Last seen in Cedar Rapids in Revival Theatre Company's production of Ragtime. He is most grateful to have performed in some of the major regional theaters across the country, with aspirations to one day, soon, be on the Broadway stages in New York City. Some of his favorite roles include Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Theatre Under the Stars), The Beast, Beauty and the Beast (Syracuse Stage) Jim, Big River (Utah Shakespeare Festival).
Ezekiel also enjoys being active as a concert artist, most often creating his own programs and opportunities as he travels from theater to theater.
With a heart for youth and arts education, Ezekiel enjoys giving back to the community by going to high schools and colleges, holding masterclasses and talkbacks to inspire the next generation of artists. "I am very fortunate to be doing the thing that I love the most, touching the hearts and lives of people. It is my joy, it is my passion. It is my mission to do more than entertain you, but to impact you. I am grateful to my parents (who stand with me and support me every step of the way) Mr. Patton Rice (my teacher and friend who has been with me since the very beginning of this music journey), MSA for the opportunity to give back to the place that gave me all that I have today, the love of my heart, Jordan Kress, and my many friends and supporters around the world who have lifted me up along the way. Thank you and God bless." #invictus
Now a resident of New York and Los Angeles, Christopher maintains a strong sense of Iowa pride for his hometown of Cedar Rapids.
A former student of Cedar Rapids native, Karla Goettel, one of his earliest gigs was the role of Captain Walker in Theater Cedar Rapids' acclaimed production of The Who's "Tommy!" opposite Broadway star, Megan Reinking. He participated in many other productions, concerts and competitions throughout his time in Iowa where he attended Coolidge Elementary, Taft Middle School and Jefferson High School '99. His tenure at Jefferson took him to Pasadena, CA to march in the Rose Parade as a drum major with the "Band of Blue" and to Nashville with the showchoir "Westside Delegation" to win the title of Grand Champions at the National Showstoppers Competition to name a few.
Christopher had the honor of being a guest performer at Brucemore's "Cabaret in the Courtyard" a few summers ago premiering his cabaret "Some Enchanted Evening."
Christopher left Cedar Rapids to pursue studies in singing at Arizona State University, California State University, Long Beach and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
His travels have taken him across the United States, Canada and Europe where he has performed in numerous Broadway shows, concerts and operas. The advantage to being part of a Broadway tour is that they often come through Des Moines! Two years ago he was seen in Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to "The Phantom of the Opera": "Love Never Dies." Before that, he toured through Des Moines with the National Broadway Tour of Evita to glowing reviews for his portrayal of the tango singer "Augustin Magaldi." Prior Broadway Tours include South Pacific, which toured over 50 cities and whose Lincoln Center revival won 7 Tony Awards. He reprised his role as Lieutenant Cable in this same production at the Ogunquit Playhouse and earned "Best Actor" by the Broadway World Boston Awards.
As a solo artist, Christopher has sung with Glimmerglass Opera, Lyric Opera San Diego, The Mark Morris Dance Group and Opera Pacific. He has been featured at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, NYC's Town Hall, The Toronto Symphony, The Boston Pops, The Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, The New Mexico Philharmonic, The Modesto and Omaha Symphonies, The Tanglewood Music Festival conducted by James Levine and The Castleton Music Festival conducted by Lorin Maazel.
Christopher balances his performing career with his position as Director of Operations at Burkestone Estate in Hudson, NY.
For More: www.johnstonechristopher.com
