Eleanor Norton is an internationally renowned cellist known for her versatility and lyricism. From Adele to Jay Z, from Coachella to Saint Denis, Eleanor appears with a coterie of artists across genres and platforms. Based in New York City, Eleanor regularly performs on television including the Late Show with David Letterman, America’s Got Talent, The Tonight Show with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, PBS, and tours extensively with long-time collaborators Alan Cumming, Natalie Merchant, Kristjan Jarvi's Absolute Ensemble, and the Sephardic/Mizrahi group Divahn. Broadway includes position at Moulin Rouge and The Cher Show and subbing on Hadestown, Jagged Little Pill, Mean Girls, The King and I, My Fair Lady, The Last Ship. Off-Broadway: For The Last Time.
Additional world tours: Adele, Bright Eyes, The Jonas Brothers, Chris Garneau, Joshua Radin, and Arlo Guthrie. Eleanor was the cello coach and music consultant for Saffron Burrows on the Amazon Prime TV Show Mozart in The Jungle, Sarah Jeffrey on the NBC drama Shades of Blue, and for Eisa Davis for her role in the theater production of The Secret Life of Bees.
A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Eleanor began playing cello at age seven in Pelham, Massachusetts. Her principal teachers and mentors include Jennifer Allen, Kim Cook, Alan Stepansky, Richard Aaron, Peter Wiley, Leon Fleisher, Boris Slutsky, and Bassam Saba. Eleanor’s greatest strength is her ability to cross over and perform in a number of different genres. She has performed as a member of the Princeton Symphony, Hawaii Symphony, and Vermont Symphony Orchestras as well as a chamber musician at many concerts in New York and abroad. She regularly performs with the new music/world music classical crossover band Absolute Ensemble and she has played Arabic music with both the New York Arabic Orchestra and Divahn. Rock and Roll/folk and pop music were part of Eleanor’s upbringing and she has always felt at home in any of those musical settings. She has worked both a string section member and band member for countless pop artist and bands. Eleanor has also collaborated with a number of jazz musicians both as a recording artist and for live shows, notably Fabian Almazan, Christian Sands, Cassandra Wilson, and Linda May Han Oh.
Her most cherished live performing experiences have occurred at surprising venues including a giant tent outside the White House as a member of Beyoncé’s band for the 2010 State Dinner hosted by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has played on boats, in dive bars, hip hop and punk clubs, at Drag Shows and Cabaret Clubs, Broadway Theaters, at festivals, in city parks and in living rooms. Other stand out concerts include the beautiful Basilica at Saint-Denis outside Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Albert Hall in London, and Carnegie Hall where she had the great experience of sitting on the cello block once used by the great cellist Rostropovich. Recordings including a Beyoncé CD, Sony Classical, and hundreds of contributions including works on the Sony Label, Audible, Yellow Sound, and PBS Great Performances. Alan Cumming’s Legal Immigrant show which featured Eleanor as a member of the four piece band, was ranked the best of Audible in 2019.
Eleanor is endorsed by NS design electric strings and Mezzo-Forte Carbon Instruments, and her primary instrument was made in 2015 by Peter Westerlund. https://www.eleanornortoncello.com
ARTIST COLLAB LIST:
Adele *tour/Televised concert from Radio City
Christina Aguilera VH1 Music Video Awards/Concert Jazz at Lincoln center
Fabian Almazan recording Aventurine album/Concert Jazz Gallery
Trey Anastasio Live stream concert Beacon Theater
Beyoncé Recording/Performance State Dinner at White House
Ryan Bingham Jimmy Fallon
Jade Bird Jimmy Fallon
Bonobo Live Irving Plaza Show/Central Park Summer Stage show
James Blake Jimmy Fallon
Titus Burgess Preachers Wife Readings
Sarah Chang Tour with Absolute Ensemble
Kid Cudi Jimmy Fallon
Alan Cumming *National and International Tours/ PBS televised special Sappy Songs/Audible Legal Immigrant
Galeet Dardasthi *National and International Tours with Divahn
Simone Dinnerstein Recording for Sony Classical with Absolute Ensemble
Luke Evans Good Morning America
Sam Fender Jimmy Fallon
Bela Fleck Hawaii Symphony
Chris Garneau *National and International tours
Simone Giuliani recording /concert Pure Land Farms california
Arlo Guthrie *US tour
Gregory Harrington National and International performances/recording/Television appearances network News
Shawn Hook Today Show
Vanessa Hudgins Today Show
Alkinoos Ioannidis *Tour in Greece and Germany with Absolute Ensemble
Brendan James. Recording for Simplify Album and Live at Highline Ballroom
Kristjan Jarvi *National and International Tours
Carel Kraayenhof. *international tour with Absolute Ensemble
Jingle Punks Recording/Live events
Elton John AmFar performance
The Jonas Brothers. *US/Canada/Mexico Burnin’Up Tour
Sabine Kabongo. Bremen Festival with Absolute Ensemble
Patti Labelle Recording for Kennedy Center 4th of July Concert
Zara Larsson Jimmy Fallon
Dennis Leary Recording for Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll
London Grammar Terminal 5 live
Sydney Lucas Night of 1,000 Genders fundraiser concert
Beth Malone Orchard Project gala
Joe McGinty Live shows Joe’s Pub with the Loser’s Lounge
Rose McGowan Album recording
Maureen McGovern *1st National Tour with Little Women the musical
Natalie Merchant *National/International Tours/Album recording/Live Broadcast Radio City
Sienna Miller Met Valentines Day concert/ Joe’s Pub
Liza Minnelli Live Shows Ice Palace Fire Island and Town Hall NYC
Father John Misty David Letterman/Coachella/US tour dates
MNDR David Letterman
Javier Muñoz Night of 1,000 Genders
Desi Okley 54 Below
Linda May Han Oh National Sawdust
Rachel Platten Good Morning America
Chuck Prophet. Sellersberg PA and Bowery Ballroom
Marcel Khalife *International tour Absolute Ensemble
Kanye West Live Shows including Live Earth
Stevie Wonder AmFar performance
Bassam Saba New York Arabic Orchestra/International Tour with Absolute Ensemble
Jake Shears Recording for Jake Shears Album
Emma Stone Live at the Box, NYC
Joshua Radin *National Tour Wish We Were Here
Bebe Rexha Jimmy Fallon
Christian Sands Recording for Grammy Nominated Song Like Water II off the Like Water Album
Shakira Album recording
Jamshied Sharifi Multiple album and live stream recordings
Thalia Live shows NYC
Bobby Conte Thornton Recording for Along the Way Album
Timbaland Live show with Jingle Punks
Justin Timberlake SNL
Dionne Warwick AmFar performance
Paul Weller PlayStation Theater
Vanessa Williams Club Cumming
Cassandra Wilson Apollo Theater
Weird Al Yankovic Forest Hills Stadium
Jay Z Live concert Carnegie Hall
Short bio:
Eleanor Norton is a New York City based cellist known for her versatility and lyricism. From Adele to Jay Z, from Coachella to Saint Denis, Eleanor appears with a coterie of artists across genres and platforms. She regularly performs on television including The Tonight Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon, America’s Got Talent, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Extensive tours with long-time collaborators Alan Cumming, Natalie Merchant, Kristjan Jarvi's Absolute Ensemble. World tours with Adele, The Jonas Brothers, Chris Garneau, Joshua Radin, and Arlo Guthrie. She held the cello chair at the Cher Show on Broadway. Other Broadway includes Hadestown, Moulin Rouge, The King and I, My Fair Lady, Little Women, The Last Ship. Off-Broadway: For The Last Time, and The Invisible Thread. Eleanor was the cello coach and music consultant for Saffron Burrows on the Amazon Prime TV Show Mozart in The Jungle.
Eleanor is endorsed by NS design electric strings and Mezzo-Forte Carbon Instruments, and her primary instrument was made in 2015 by Peter Westerlund. https://www.eleanornortoncello.com