Alyssa Cossey

Contact Alyssa Cossey

acossey@coastal.edu

Edwards 292

Fall 2023 Office Hours
Tuesdays/Thursdays 11:00am - 12:00pm
(or by appointment) 

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Biography

Alyssa J. Cossey (she/her) is a conductor, educator, scholar, and activist dedicated to expanding the choral canon and diversifying the podium. She is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, conductor, and presenter, giving over a hundred research and practitioner presentations across the U.S. She has been published in several state and regional music education journals, including the Choral Journal (the US’s premiere peer-reviewed choral research publication), and is a contributing author for a new choral textbook on women composers edited by Hilary Apfelstadt, D.M.A..

As a Los Angeles native, she sang in the premiere women’s chorus, Vox Femina Los Angeles, under the direction of Iris Levine, D.M.A., and has sung at venues including the Hollywood Bowl, the Pantages Theatre, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall with renowned conductors and composers, including 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 Sandra Snow, D.M.A., and can be heard on their debut CD Ecstatic Songs, released in March 2018, as well as their sophomore album, Home in Me, released in February 2023.

She is currently serving as the Associate Director of Choral Activities at Coastal Carolina University where she conducts the Calliope Chorus and teaches Music Education courses. Before relocating to the East Coast for love, she was an Assistant Professor of Choral Music at the University of Arizona and prior to that she taught both middle and high school choir in Southern California for nearly a decade.

Education

Michigan State University, DMA in Choral Conducting, 2017

California State University, Fullerton, MM in Conducting, 2015

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, BA in Music Education/Music Teacher Credential 2008

Teaching Areas

Choral Conducting, Music Education

Research Areas

Performance practice issues in twentieth-century choral music, culturally responsive pedagogy, and intersectional feminism in the arts.

Website: https://www.alyssacossey.com/