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ELEM ELEY
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BARITONE Opera - Concert - Recital
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American baritone ELEM ELEY enjoys a remarkably varied career, from opera, oratorio and recital to premières of contemporary vocal music. His four latest CDs were released in 2008 by Albany Records - a solo album, Drifts and Shadows: American Song for the New Millennium, and a featured group of Three Antarctica Songs by Laurie Altman on Mr. Altman’s new CD, entitled On Course. In the American Record Guide (Jan/Feb 2009), critic Stephen Estep reviewed Drifts and Shadows, stating, "Eley's voice is warm and clean. He is definitely one of the best singers of English I've ever heard...Buy this record." Fanfare opines, "This is a miraculous compilation of gems...a Want List candidate." Mr. Eley is cast in the première recording of the Hagen/Muldoon opera, Shining Brow, released in 2009 by Naxos. Additionally, he is featured on a recording of Steven Sametz's Dulcis Amor, with the Princeton Singers and tenor John Aler, recently released by Arsis Recordings.
Last season Mr. Eley returned to Musica Sacra at Lincoln Center for Carmina Burana and the world première of Alessandro Cadario’s Cantata for Revival, to the Springfield (MO) Symphony for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and to the Oratorio Singers of Westfield for Bach’s Mass in b. Recitals included revisiting Schubert's Winterreise in Princeton and Masters of Modern American Art Song II (music of Tom Cipullo, David Eddleman and Gardner Read) at Symphony Space in New York City. Recently, he débuted with the Buffalo Philharmonic in their semi-staged version of Daron Hagen’s Shining Brow (conducted by JoAnn Falletta), rejoined the Peniel Concert Choir as soloist in their annual Messiah at Lincoln Center, returned to Carnegie Hall for Carmina Burana and Die erste Walpurgisnacht with David Randolph and the St. Cecilia Chorus, to the Burlington Choral Society as Elijah and enlivened two new operatic characters: James Joyce in Hagen’s The Antient Concert, showcased in Symphony Space’s “Bloomsday on Broadway” Festival, and Donald Giovanni in Peter Schickele’s The Abduction of Figaro with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. Upcoming is Bach’s St. John Passion (Christus), with Princeton Pro Musica, and Handel's Israel in Egypt, at Lehigh University.
Other notable engagements included his début with Richard Westenburg’s Musica Sacra as soloist in Bach’s Cantata No. 82, a series of performances led by another legendary choral maestro - Robert Page - singing Carmina Burana, the world première of Vera of Las Vegas by Daron Hagen and Paul Muldoon; and appearances with the Symphony Orchestras of Charlotte, Kansas City, New Jersey, Sioux City and Springfield, the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall, The Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center and the Calvin Oratorio Society. Mr. Eley sang the title role of Don Giovanni for his début at the Operafestival di Roma and has appeared in productions with the Opera Companies of Cincinnati, Hawaii, Shreveport and Syracuse, Athena Grand Opera, the Sylvan Opera Festival, the Center for Contemporary Opera and Musica Europa 2001. In May of 2005 he was soloist in Carmina Burana at Verizon Hall of Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. A native of Georgia with degrees in voice from Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he pursued doctoral study at Indiana University, where he was a student of Margaret Harshaw.
In addition to his active performance career, Elem Eley, winner of the 1996 Joy in Singing Award, is Professor of Voice at
Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey.
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Visit Mr. Eley's blog,
kavbar.wordpress.com, for thoughts on singing, teaching, learning and life.
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