Rhianna Cockrell

Biography

Rhianna Cockrell, mezzo-soprano, has captivated audiences with her interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque works as well as her passion for contemporary works. As a frequent and award-winning interpreter of J.S. Bach’s music, Cockrell’s performances have been described as “unforced” and “resolute” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Cockrell’s 2024–25 season sees her solo debut with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in J.S. Bach’s Magnificat and Handel’s Messiah, as well as with Washington Bach Consort in J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. She also joins the Baltimore Basilica Schola Cantorum and Three Notch'd Road Baroque Ensemble as the alto soloist in J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion. Other season highlights include performances with Folger Consort, Ensemble Altera, The Thirteen, and True Concord Voices & Orchestra.

Recent solo features include an album release as the alto soloist in Bach’s B Minor Mass with Cantata Collective, alto solos in Bach’s St. John Passion with True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Bach’s B Minor Mass with The Thirteen, and in Bach’s Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir BWV 29 with Oregon Bach Festival. Previously, Cockrell has performed as the alto soloist in Bach’s Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80 with Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Handel’s Messiah with South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Kentucky Bach Choir, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Bach’s Magnificat with The Thirteen, as well as Bach’s Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22 with Oregon Bach Festival under the baton of Jos van Veldhoven. Other accolades include being selected to perform airs de cour in a masterclass with Dame Emma Kirkby and Jakob Lindberg, hosted by Gotham Early Music Scene, winning first prize in the Colorado Bach Ensemble’s 2020 Young Artist Competition and an encouragement award in the 2021 Audrey Rooney Bach Competition.

Cockrell earned her master of musical arts in early music voice performance from the Yale School of Music, where she performed as the alto soloist in works by Telemann and Schütz with Masaaki Suzuki and the Yale Schola Cantorum and in Handel’s Messiah with the Yale Glee Club. Most recently, Cockrell was invited back to join Yale Schola Cantorum in their Germany tour as the soloist in Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning.

As a champion of contemporary music, Cockrell held an artist residency with the Cornell Department of Music featuring a solo recital that included a commission premiere of Amelia Brey’s ALL THE FLOWERS WERE MINE. Cockrell has appeared in Nasty Women Connecticut’s 2021 online art exhibition Silent Fire in a performance of Joel Thompson’s After, as well as in Prototype Opera’s 2021 virtual festival in Thompson’s Clairvoyance. She also premiered Amelia Brey’s the night i died again, which she commissioned for her degree recital at Yale.

In addition to performance, Cockrell is an active advocate for social justice and diverse representation in classical music. Along with two of her colleagues, Gloria Yin and Joe Lerangis, Cockrell co-founded New Muses Project in 2021. New Muses Project is a collective that aims to encourage justice-focused radical curiosity in classical music, and will do so through providing a streamlined database that is free and open to the public, frequent performances, transcription projects, and more.

Cockrell holds degrees from Yale University (MMA), University of Minnesota (MM), and George Mason University (BM).