Ravinia 2024 Issue 3

NEFELI CHADOULI Conductor Nefeli Chadouli was born in Ath- ens, Greece, and began her musical studies on piano and violin, completing a diploma in pi- ano at the National Conservatory of Greece with Grand Prix, Exceptional Performance Distinction as well as earning the Krino Kalo- moiri Award. She subsequently completed an integrated master’s degree in musicology with distinction from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, specializing in historical and systematic musicology. Adding conducting to her artistic repertory, Chadouli completed a bachelor’s degree with distinction at Leipzig’s Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University of Mu- sic and Theater, and she is currently finishing a master’s degree in Conducting at the Universi- tät der Künste in Berlin. Among her principal mentors are Marin Alsop, Steven Sloane, Harry Curtis, Matthias Foremny, and Catherine Lars- en-Maguire, with whom she has worked as an Assistant Conductor in both symphonic and operatic repertoire. Chadouli’s extensive expe- rience also includes conducting masterclasses with Johannes Schlaefli, Vittorio Parisi, Anna Skryleva, Sebastiano Rolli, Roger Benedict, Michalis Economou, Jonathan Brett, Basilio Astulez, Urlich Weder with such ensembles as the Göttinger Symphony, Komischen Oper Ber- lin Orchestra, Brandenburg State Orchestra of Frankfurt, Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Magdeburg Phil- harmonic, Cottbus State Theater Philharmonic, Saxon Wind Philharmonic, Prussian Cham- ber Orchestra, and Pazardzhik Symphony Or- chestra. From founding the ensemble in 2014 through 2018, Chadouli was conductor of the Periklis Koukos Youth Orchestra at the National Conservatory of Greece, and she has also led the Brandenburg Symphony, Southwest German Philharmonic, Ensemble Ilinx, Leipzig Sym- phony, Thessaloniki City Symphony Orchestra, and Athens City Symphony Orchestra. She has been the Principal Guest Conductor of Sinfonia Leipzig since 2021 and Permanent Conductor at the Babylon Orchester Berlin (an ensemble spe- cializing in accompanying silent movies) since 2023, and this year she became an Associate Fel- low of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship. Nefeli Chadouli is making her Ravinia debut. RASHADA DAWAN A proud Chicago South Shore native, Rashada Dawan is known for her powerhouse voice and commandingstagepresence.Shehascultivateda varietyoftelevision,concert,andtheatricalstage credits across the United States and is grateful for every opportunity to bring joy through the arts. The executive director of B. FLi Produc- tions, she is also a Jeff Award–nominated ac- tress. Dawan’s stage credits include Shenzi in the “Gazelle” national touring company of Disney’s The Lion King ; Mayme in Intimate Apparel with NorthlightTheatre;Gloriain Madagascar aswell as roles in Junie B. Jones and TheNutcracker at the Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire; Elf: The Musical at the Paramount Theatre Aurora; the title role of Caroline, or Change withFirebrand andTime- LineTheatre; Djembe withForesightTheatricals; Something in the Game with the American Mu- sicTheatre Project at Northwestern University’s Wirtz Center; TheWinner of Our Discontent and A Red Line Runs Through It with Second City; Elton John’s Aida atTheMuny inSaint Louis; and Dynamite Divas , BlackWhite Love Play , and The Other Cinderella with Black Ensemble Theatre. On screen, Dawan has had roles in Chicago PD , Shameless , Hope Springs Eternal , Easy , The Red Line , Proven Innocent , 61st Street , and The Chi . Rashada Dawan previously appeared at Ravinia in 2022 as a narrator in Jessie Montgomery’s or- chestral setting of Mo Willems’s Because . PAVILION 8:00 PMSATURDAY, JULY 27, 2024 KILLER QUEEN † A TRIBUTE TO QUEEN featuring PATRICK MYERS as Freddie Mercury † Ravinia debut KILLER QUEEN Killer Queen’s first public shows were at London University, following in the footsteps of the real Queen, who had played their first shows there decades earlier. Killer Queen’s UK popularity grew to such an extent they soon secured a resi- dency in London’s Strand Theatre, attracting na- tionwide BBC coverage—the first tribute to have a show in the West End. The band’s reputation continued to grow both in the UK and abroad, leading to an awards ceremony in Leicester Square where they were named “Worldwide Best Tribute Band.” They soon scored a num- ber-one hit, re-creating Queen’s harmonies for “The Real Life” with Fatboy Slim, and began playing European arenas like Ahoy and Forest National Arena, where Queen filmed concert videos of “Hammer to Fall” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Joining forces with Bjorn Again and The Bootleg Beatles for a Waverley Stadium show led to the band being selected to represent Queen in a LiveAid tribute concert. Killer Queen con- tinues to play packed arenas across Europe— recently touring Norway and Lithuania as well as shows in Cardiff, Nottingham, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, and Newcastle—as they add regular destinations in the US such as Red Rocks and Austin City Limits. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 63