Cynthia Elek is a musician, actor, writer and arts educator. She holds a Master's of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland College Park, where she studied in the Maryland Opera Studio under Leon Major, and a Bachelor's in art history from Oberlin College with musical studies in the Oberlin Conservatory. Ms. Elek has been a featured soloist internationally, recorded commercials and voice-overs, designed award-winning brochures, and written arts features and visual arts criticism for regional newspapers. Her five years as a company artist with InterAct Story Theatre, a Maryland-based educational theatre company, introduced her to work with children and teachers. A Roster Artist with the Arizona Commission for the Arts, she conducts residencies and lecture demonstrations for all ages and provides professional development for teachers, parents, librarians and arts educators nationally. Ms. Elek is a Master Teaching Artist with the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts and a member of the Arizona Reading Association.