During a break from performing in the national tour of the hit Broadway musical, Auston Henderson ’17 and two castmates led a session for students in the Departments of Performing Arts and Music.
The atmosphere in Scott Studios was electric as Auston Henderson ’17 and two of his castmates in the national tour of “Hamilton” led a master class for Elon’s music and performing arts majors.
Henderson is featured in the smash musical’s North American tour as an ensemble member and is an understudy for several major roles, including the Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson. During the tour’s stop in Greensboro, he also played George Washington. He graduated with a degree in music theatre but didn’t take the direct route to Broadway. Instead, he followed his heart toward dreams of being a recording artist in Los Angeles and Nashville, an example he encouraged students to follow as they prepare for life after Elon.
“The passion to leap and go to New York and start doing things is beautiful, don’t let all of that fire and that hunger and inspiration go, but also know that New York is not going anywhere,” Henderson said. “Right now, I am doing things I never thought I could do. Every day, I am showing myself what I’m capable of and it’s so empowering.”
Along with sage advice, Henderson sang “One Last Time” and was joined by castmates Sabrina Harrison and Nathanael Hirst to teach a dance combination to “The Room Where It Happens.” Harrison and Hirst also shared about their music theatre careers from college graduation to the main stage.
While he was at Elon, Senior Lecturer in Music Polly Cornelius was his voice teacher. They remained close after he graduated and pursued a music career in Los Angeles and performed with the Grand Ole Opry’s General Jackson Showboat in Nashville. They arranged for the master class while “Hamilton” was running at Greensboro’s Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts.
“Auston was always a ‘triple threat’ who can act, dance and sing, but has a special, powerful and beautiful voice,” Cornelius said. “He is a wonderful human being, and I loved watching him interact with and inspire the future generations of performers at Elon.”
Recalling the excitement of master classes led by professionals while he was an undergraduate music theatre major, Henderson was eager to return to campus to share knowledge he’s gained in the entertainment industry.
He emphasized the importance for students of drawing on resources available to them at Elon and to make friends outside of their majors. Beyond friendship, those broad connections are often fruitful.
“I’m so thankful I made friends outside of music theater. Music students played on my EP. My friends in the School of Communications helped me with music videos, producing concerts and photography,” he said. “Meeting people, integrating and hanging out with people from different walks of life: There’s so much talent there and so many different capacities. It only widens your perspectives and the possibilities of what you can do.”
Henderson is still pursuing his dream of being a recording artist. His stint in Nashville opened him to the possibilities within country music, and he’s interested in fusing Americana with the pop, funk and R&B genres he naturally gravitates toward. He is planning to write and record a country-inspired project in the near future.
That broad range of artistic interests is something he also encouraged for Elon students.
“You all are creatives, artists, and that’s a whole spectrum, not just one thing. Follow your heart and create in whatever capacity that is,” he said. “Practice, do your work, sink your teeth into everything that you can here, meet everyone you can here, and graduate.”
