Spotlight on the Chorale

Dr. Alyssa J. Cossey

Artistic Director & Conductor

Dr. Alyssa J. Cossey is thrilled to be serving as the new Artistic Director & Conductor of the Carolina Master Chorale. She has spent the last twenty years successfully leading choirs in academic, community, and professional ensemble settings, including at the University of Arizona, where she was a third-place winner of the Dale Warland American Prize in Conducting for her work with the University Community Chorus. More recently, she has served as the Associate Director of Choral Activities at Coastal Carolina University and the Interim Director of Choral Activities at Wellesley College. Prior to that, she taught middle and high school choir in Southern California for nearly a decade.   

As a professional conductor, Dr. Cossey has prepared choirs to perform choral-orchestral masterworks, including Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, Handel’s Messiah, Britten’s War Requiem, and several works by Bach, including the St. John Passion. However, her true passion lies in expanding the choral canon to include music from around the world, with a focus on historically excluded composers. Dr. Cossey has recently begun working directly with composers,  commissioning new works through larger choral consortia and directly with the organizations she leads. This spring, she commissioned three new works for the Wellesley College Choir by composers Coty Raven Morris, Diana Sáez, and Ethan Sperry. She is also a highly sought-after guest conductor and clinician, working with choirs of all ages throughout the country. 

As a Los Angeles native, Dr. Cossey sang in the premiere women’s chorus, Vox Femina Los Angeles, under the direction of Dr. Iris Levine, and has sung at venues including the Hollywood Bowl, the Pantages Theatre, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall with renowned conductors and composers such as John Williams, Grant Gershon, and James Conlon. She is also an inaugural member of the professional women's choir mirabai, which sings and tours under the direction of Dr. Sandra Snow and can be heard on their debut album, Ecstatic Songs, released in March 2018, as well as their sophomore album, Home in Me, released in February 2023.

Dr. Cossey regularly shares her scholarship and expertise locally, working with area schools and choral directors, and with the larger choral community through publications and presentations. She is published in several state and regional music education journals, including the Choral Journal, and is a contributing author for the newly published Choral Repertoire by Women Composers, edited by Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. Alyssa holds a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, an M.M. in Conducting from California State University, Fullerton, and a B.A. from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. For additional information about Dr. Cossey or to access her educational resources, please visit www.alyssacossey.com.