“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.’”
“The highlight proved to be mezzo-soprano Rhianna Cockrell, luscious on the pleading phrases of ‘Domine Deus, Agnus Dei.’”
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 2023–24 season sees an upcoming album release as the alto soloist in Bach’s B Minor Mass with Cantata Collective, an artist residency with the Cornell Department of Music featuring a solo recital that includes a commission premiere of Amelia Brey’s ALL THE FLOWERS WERE MINE, features as an alto soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion with True Concord Voices & Orchestra, an alto soloist in Bach’s B Minor Mass with The Thirteen, and the alto soloist in Bach’s Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir BWV 29 with Oregon Bach Festival, as well as performances with Apollo’s Fire, Washington Bach Consort, Ensemble Altera, and Upper Valley Baroque. Recent solo performances include 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, Bach’s B Minor Mass with Cantata Collective, as well as Bach’s Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22 and Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 with Oregon Bach Festival. She was recently chosen to perform airs de cour in a masterclass with Dame Emma Kirkby and Jakob Lindberg, hosted by Gotham Early Music Scene. Previously, Cockrell won the Colorado Bach Ensemble’s 2020 Young Artist Competition and an encouragement award in the 2021 Audrey Rooney Bach Competition.
Rachel Cooperstein, photographer
Becky Oehlers, photographer
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 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 recently 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 and now works as their Administrative Director. 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).