“Mezzo Cockrell’s beautifully controlled singing is masterful in this movement, especially at the return of the A section, where she employs a breath-taking pianissimo. It is otherworldly and reminds me of conductor Robert Shaw’s description that a well-sung performance of this aria can make ‘that grandest of all Dona nobis pacem finales sound like an encore of questionable taste.’”
Rhianna Cockrell, mezzo-soprano, whose instrument has been described as “clear and commanding” (Washington Post), and having a “natural warmth and unforced delivery” (EarRelevant) has captivated audiences with her interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque works as well as her passion for contemporary works. Cockrell’s 2025–26 season sees her return to Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Handel’s Messiah, Durufle’s Requiem with The Thirteen, Bach’s B Minor Mass and Himmelskönig, Sei Willkommen, BWV 182 with Bach in Baltimore, as well as Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Durufle’s Requiem with the Baltimore Basilica Schola. Other season highlights include performances with Aeternum, Washington Bach Consort, Ensemble Altera, Apollo’s Fire, and True Concord Voices & Orchestra.
Recent solo features include performances of J.S. Bach’s Magnificat and Handel’s Messiah with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Washington Bach Consort, Copland’s In the Beginning with The Thirteen, Bach’s St. John Passion with both the Baltimore Basilica Schola and Bach in Baltimore, and an album release of Bach’s B Minor Mass with Cantata Collective. Cockrell has also been a featured soloist with Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival, Kentucky Bach Choir, Folger’s Consort, True Concord Voices & Orchestra, and Three Notch'd Road Baroque Ensemble. 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.
“The highlight proved to be mezzo-soprano Rhianna Cockrell, luscious on the pleading phrases of ‘Domine Deus, Agnus Dei.’”
Becky Oehlers, photographer
Rachel Cooperstein, photographer
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.
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.
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).