Jeffrey Cornelius

Jeffrey Cornelius was born on May 19, 2003 in Jackson, MS. He has spent his entire life in Jackson, but attends college in Cincinnati, OH. As a young child, Jeffrey had a strong connection to music, and he began taking piano and cello lessons. During this time, Jeffrey was accepted into APAC program (Academic and Performing Arts Complex) to further his honors education and work on his music. While at APAC, Jeffrey learned how to play other instruments (violin, viola, guitar, bass, ukulele and organ) while concentrating on playing the cello and singing. Jeffrey began his acting career at New Stage Theatre in Jackson, MS first appearing in "High School Musical" as Ryan Evans. From there, he starred in many New Stage Theatre Productions. In March of 2019, Jeffrey was invited to participate in a showcase put on by SceneBot Stage Live in Los Angeles and has not stopped working on his craft. After the SceneBot Stage Live showcase, Jeffrey realized that he wanted to take his craft seriously and decided to graduate from high school a year early. For his senior year, he switched from Instrumental Performance Music to Theatre at APAC to focus more on storytelling and acting to prepare him for college and career. He still plays all his instruments. He graduated in May of 2020 from William B. Murrah High School and APAC with Honors ranking #32 in his class. A day before leaving for college, Jeffrey booked a role in the HBO Max special, Home School Musical: Class of 2020. This documentary is the brainchild of Broadway and TV star, Laura Benanti and inspired by her #SunshineSongs Concert Series on YouTube. It follows seven young High School Seniors; whose lives were impacted by the Covid-19 Pandemic and allows them each to share their story and have one final performance of their senior year of high school. Jeffrey carefully selected "Pray" by Sam Smith to sing about how he was feeling during this pandemic. Jeffrey is continuously studying, training and pursuing his dream in acting, singing, dancing and Instrumental Performance at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM) working on his BFA in Musical Theatre. He looks forward to working in the industry whether it is theatre, film, music or TV.