Melanie Wade Cometa

Melanie Wade Cometa is the Director of Choral Activities at Ledyard High School, her alma mater, where she conducts over 200 students in nine choirs. Her ensembles have performed as guest artists with CONCORA, Voce, the Mystic River Chorale, the Shoreline Chorale, and as a featured choir at the 2017 CT-ACDA state conference. From March 2020-June 2021, Mrs. Cometa and the Ledyard Choirs produced over 50 virtual ensemble projects, including three world premieres and a feature-length virtual musical. Her work has been featured on ChoirBuzz, The Choir Project, and most recently at Carnegie Hall.

Previously, Mrs. Cometa taught at Grasso Technical High School, where she grew the music program to include over half of the student body. She was named the 2015-16 Grasso Tech Teacher of the Year and the 2016 Connecticut Technical High School System Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Cometa was named the 2016 Outstanding Young Choral Director in Connecticut. She was also a quarter-finalist for the 2018 GRAMMY Music Educator Award. Mrs. Cometa holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Vocal Performance from Ithaca College, where she studied with Dr. David Parks, Larry Doebler, and Dr. Janet Galván. She has performed as the mezzo-soprano soloist for Mendelssohn's Magnificat, Bach's Magnificat, Vivaldi's Gloria, Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music, and Handel's Messiah, all with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. Mrs. Cometa was previously the conductor of The Shoreline Chorale, a community choir in Madison, CT and a member of Voce, a professional chamber choir in Hartford, CT.

Mrs. Cometa serves as the Treble Choir Repertoire and Resources Chair for CT-ACDA and is a regular clinician and guest conductor for conferences and festivals throughout the Northeast.