ELENI (aka Eleni Arapoglou) is a singer from Athens, Greece, based in New York. Her most recent collaboration for Thana Alexa's album 'Ona' has just been nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Another recent highlight includes her duet with multiple Latin Grammy winner Leonel Garcia on his most recent album Amor Pasado with Sony Music Mexico.
Eleni has performed in Boston's Aganis Arena, at the Latin Grammys with Alejandro Sanz and at the legendary home of flamenco Casa Patas in Madrid honoring maestros Pepe Habichuela and Jose Mercé. Over the past five years Eleni has performed in a variety venues such as Park Avenue Armory, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Atrium, National Sawdust, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, the Rubin Museum and more. She has toured with her group as well as with other projects in Costa Rica, Italy, the US, Buenos Aires, Greece, Hawaii and Bulgaria, to name a few.
Her studies began at SOAS in London where she studied Art History & Archaeology of Asia, Africa & the Middle East. A year later she transferred to Tufts University and graduated with a Bachelors in Drama & Dance, focusing on set design, choreography, and other aspects of performance and production. In 2014 Eleni graduated from Berklee College of Music where she obtained her Professional Diploma in Vocal Performance focusing on traditional music from South America, the Balkans, the Mediterranean and her homeland Greece, as well as jazz, classics of soul, funk, RnB always with an interest in Improvisation. Her curiosity in this varied palette of cultures since her Art History studies has been a constant influence in her growth as an artist.
Projects Eleni has been apart of include Serbian vocal group ROSA, jazz/RnB group Foreign Hues, Argentinian Trio with Jacinta Clusellas and Juana Luna, Aca Seca Trio, duo with innovative Greek lute player Vasilis Kostas performing music from Greece. Eleni has been collaborating with Israeli pianist Shai Maetro, Cuban pianist Dayramir Gonzalez, American singer/songwriter Emily Elbert, Portuguese vocalist Sofia Ribeiro, Indian-American vocalist Kavita Shah, Colombian pianist Carolina Calvache, greek bassist Petros Klampanis among others.
In addition to performing, Eleni has taught in various workshops and programs in Europe and the US including Global Music Foundation (London), Circlesongs with Bobby McFerrin at Omega institute, ISWiB (Serbia), Women In Sound (NYC), Luna Monti Estudio (Buenos Aires), Triskelion Arts & Alchemical Studios (NYC). Her extensive studies with Ruth Zapora in Action Theatre as well as her role as a copilot alongside Rhiannon teaching an international vocal improvisation masterclass have been deeply influential in combining both sound and movement as she develops her own teaching practice: BodySong. exploring how singers can benefit from growing our connection to our body. It’s a space for movement, the voice, stillness, imagination, creativity, giving certain tools to help open up to the many possibilities there are of making music in the moment, both solo and in a team.
Eleni has been a Teaching Artist at Carnegie Hall for three years creating music with families in all boroughs of New York with Lullaby Project.
Working side by side with parents supporting them in writing personal songs for their children, particularly families experiencing a great deal of challenges in their lives. The project has expanded globally, as Eleni has worked at several sites such as Siena House women’s shelter in the Bronx, LYFE - an after school support program for young mothers, Woodhull Hospital and Jacobi Medical Center. Eleni has collaborated in the work of El Sistema Greece as a composer, facilitator and performer, bringing the work of Carnegie's special project to Greece.
Additionally, Eleni has been a music mentor for SAY (Stuttering Association for the Young) as well as for Musicalmente (offering knowledge and music to children with autism). She has been a music coordinator for NYC RELIEF bringing music to the homeless in New York since 2017.
Eleni has been nominated for the Greek International Women Awards 2017'
Look out for ELENI'S debut album coming out in 2021!