Vox Fortura

Sunday
March 10, 2019
3:00 p.m.
Orlin Trapp Auditorium

Newest Classical Crossover group

Vox Fortura is the newest Classical Crossover group from the U.K. As recent semi-finalists on Britain’s Got Talent, they are bringing classical vocals back into the mainstream and filling every fantastic performance with everything from Elgar and Bizet's “Pearl Fishers” to David Bowie, John Legend and Ed Sheeran.

Thomas Goodridge
Thomas was born and raised in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and began training at the Jackie Palmer Stage School at an early age. He has always had a passion for performing arts, and landed his first professional acting role at 15. His theatre credentials include appearances in A Matter of Life and Death, War Horse, Much Ado About Nothing, The Man of Mode & Caroline, and Change (Royal National Theatre), and the West End Musicals, The Lion King, Bat Boy, Rent, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, TJ in Sister Act: The Musical (alongside Whoopi Goldberg), The Book Of Mormon & Jersey Boys London. Television & Film credits include The Bill, Thieftakers, EastEnders, Grange Hill, Beautiful People, various commercials, & short films. Thomas was a member of pop boy band The One, who had a television series on GMTV and toured the UK and Europe with pop acts such as Peter Andre and Boyzone. He has also appeared in various music videos and is a recording artist.

Elias Hendricks
Elias is currently an opening cast member of Motown the Musical in the Shaftesbury Theater on London’s West End, where he performed as the lead singer of the Temptations and covered the lead role of Berry Gordy. He was a semi-finalist in the 2016, 10-year anniversary series of Britain’s Got Talent with his group, Vox Fortura. Elias previously toured his own one-man soul show Ain’t Too Proud To Beg throughout Europe. Additional theatre credentials include performances as Simba in Disney’s The Lion King, Romeo in the world premiere opera Romeo e Giulietta, and Sportin’ Life in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. He has been a soloist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Allen Symphony (Allen, TX), Alabama Symphony, Tanglewood Music Festival, and the Van Cliburn Concert series as special guest of Tony Award-winning composer, Adam Guettel. Elias is equally at home in the genres of Opera, Soul, and Musical Theater, and enjoys an exciting career in all three.

“Polished to perfection...”

-–Alesha Dixon, Britain’s Got Talent

Khaya Maseko
Khaya is a South East London based singer, artist and musician. Born in Lewisham to a South African father and British mother, his family moved to South Africa when he was 6 years old. Always an adept singer and entertainer, he began writing songs at the age of 8 and began classical vocal training at the world-renowned Drakensberg Boys Choir School at the age of 11. At 14, he started his first original music project, a hip-hop trio known as KK Juse. Despite wanting to continue with his musical training after high school, pressure from his family convinced him to attend university to study mechanical engineering. He dropped out after a year, and shortly after began his career in musical theatre at the South African National Children’s Theatre. After winning a Naledi Award for “Best Newcomer,” he joined the international tour of Disney’s The Lion King. In 2016, Maseko abandoned his musical theatre career to pursue a career as a solo artist. After showing his music to some of his fellow musicians, he began working on his first EP entitled “Better Late Than Never.” Maseko’s musical influences come from a wide array of genres, and among his favorite artists are Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, OutKast, Eminem and Slash.

Brandon Coleman
Brandon Coleman, a graduate of the University of Hartford Hartt School of Music, has been praised for his “exotic vocal coloring” by Opera News, and “wonderful resonance” by Classical Singer. He commands the stage with his confidence, and lures the audience with his voice. Brandon’s recent performances include debuts with Hawaii Opera Theatre, two productions with Utah Opera Festival, and returning to Opera on the James to reprise the role of “Sparafucile” in Verdi’s Rigoletto. He has performed with a number of reputable companies across North America, including the Kentucky Opera, Sarasota Opera, Central City Opera, Chatauqua Opera, Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, Connecticut Opera, Opera New Jersey, and more. Coleman has been most recognized for his appearances as “Mephistopheles” in Faust, “Ibn Hakia” in Iolanta, “Joe” in Showboat, “Jesus” in The Seven Last Words, “Crown” in Porgy and Bess, and “Fred” in Smokey Joe’s Café. Coleman made his international debut in 2011 as “Sarastro” in Die Zauberflote with the Tuscia Opera Festival, under the baton of Maestro Stefano Vignati. Coleman currently resides in the New York City area, and studies with the remarkable Andrea Delgiudice.