Repeat the Sounding Joy:
This past season, the Centralia Opera put on 2 concerts, a dinner gala, and a fully staged opera with orchestra, gave students in the area over 60 hours of free voice lessons through the student fellowship program, and brought opera to Centralia. This December 23rd, join us as we celebrate the Joy of Christmas, the Joy of a successful inaugural season, and the Joy of getting to do it again right here in Centralia!
-Caden Cole, General Director
Celebrate Christmas with the Centralia Opera, December 23rd at 5:00 at Calumet Street Christian Church. Hear beloved Christmas classics, operatic arias, and other silly songs. No tickets necessary, but donations are greatly encouraged.
Sopranos, Chloe Beal, Grace Hummel, Ashley Brewer, and Greer Arcomona, tenors, William Johnson and Spencer Domer, and baritone, Caden Cole in collaboration with Maestro Elijah Harrison Buerk ring in the Christmas Spirit with music from Händel, Elvis, Puccini, Bing Crosby, and more Tuesday, December 23rd at 5:00 at Calumet Street Christian Church in in this celebration of Christmas Joy!
Meet the cast!
Elijah Harrison Buerk – Maestro
Elijah Harrison Buerk is a composer, organist, carilloneur, and conductor from Centralia, IL. He has graduated from the Indiana University Bloomington Jacobs School of Music with majors in Composition and Organ Performance and a minor in Conducting; he will continue at IU, pursuing a Master of Music in Organ Performance and teaching as the Associate Instructor of Carillon. Buerk is thankful for his many mentors, colleagues, friends, and family from Centralia, Bloomington, and beyond, and is very excited to conduct his first opera as the Music Director of Centralia Opera.
Caden Cole – Baritone
Singer, actor, and teacher, Caden Cole is a Chicago-based baritone from Centralia, Illinois making waves in the operatic scene in the midwest. As an interpreter of Mozart, Caden has performed as the titular role in Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, and is scheduled to perform as Papageno in The Magic Flute with the Centralia Opera. He has also sung the roles of Sid in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, Mr. Moss in Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land, and covered Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance. Caden is a graduate of the Southern Illinois University School of Music holding a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music Education. While he was there, he also studied acting at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. Active as a choral singer, Caden has appeared with the Paducah Singers, Chicago Camerata, and the Attack on Titan: Beyond the Walls World Tour to name a few. Caden is currently a Masters Candidate in Classical Voice at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. As a passionate teacher of singing, Caden teaches students in person and online all over Illinois.
Will Johnson – Tenor
During the 2023/2024 Season, tenor William Johnson participated in Madison Opera's Studio Artist program where he performed the roles of Spoletta in Tosca, Colin in The Anonymous Lover, and the Captain in Candide. Johnson also covered the roles of Cavaradossi in Tosca, Valcour in The Anonymous Lover, the title role of Candide and Ivan the Lackey in Francesca Zambello's production of The Nose at Chicago Opera Theater. Other professional credits include Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at Mozart in the Knobs Festival, tenor soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Albany Symphony and Mozart's requiem with the Carolina Philharmonic. While pursuing his graduate degree at Northwestern University he sang roles including Rodolfo in La bohème, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, and Fabian in If I were you. During his undergraduate studies at Michigan State University, Mr. Johnson performed roles including Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Pluto in Orpheus in the Underworld, Alfred in Die Fledermaus. This past January, Johnson was a finalist in The Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice Competition.
Ashley Brewer – Soprano
Soprano Ashley Brewer is a Texas native based in Chicagoland, where she teaches private voice and piano lessons and is an Artist in Residence at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago. She graduated with dual degrees in Voice & Opera Performance and English Literature from Northwestern University in 2024. Previous performance credits include Elle in La voix humaine, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, and Adele in Die Fledermaus with the William Lewis School of Opera. At Northwestern, Ashley appeared as Taumännchen and covered Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Mädchen in The Emperor of Atlantis, and the Zweiter Knabe in Die Zauberflöte.
Chloe Beal – Soprano
Chloe Beal is a graduate of SIU’s School of Music in Voice Performance. Chloe has performed in two operas with SIU, Amahl and the Night Visitors in the chorus and Rose in The Little Prince. She made her professional opera debut in SIFest's productions of La Rondine and Ernani in the chorus, and she’ll be back to perform in Anna Bolena and L’elisir d’amore in June 2025. In the fall of 2022, she performed in a masterclass with the famous Christine Brewer at the NATS Central Region conference. She also placed 2nd place in the NATS Central Region Auditions in the Classical division. As a native of Salem, Illinois, she is passionate about bringing her love of opera closer to her roots. In the fall of 2025, Chloe will pursue her Master’s of Music in Classical Performance at the Chicago College of Performing Arts Conservatory at Roosevelt University.
Grace Hummel – Soprano
Grace Hummel is a graduate of Carlyle High School and will be attending Kaskaskia College in the fall of 2025 for a degree in Vocal Music Education. She participated in musical theater and choir during high school. Some of her previous roles include Lily in Annie Jr., Beth in Little Women, Peppermint Patty in The World According to Snoopy, and Elsa in Frozen Jr. Grace also participated in the 2025 ILMEA All-District Musical Festival as a Soprano I in the senior chorus. She would like to thank her family, friends, and teachers for their support in her musical endeavors and the opportunity to be a part of the Centralia Opera Student Fellowship.
