Wellesley College Choir

The Choral Program at Wellesley has a rich history dating back to 1900. For twenty-eight years, Hamilton MacDougall led the Choir, becoming much beloved by the young women who sang with him. After MacDougall’s retirement, Randall Thompson assumed the role of conductor from 1927-29, during which the Choir gave its first performance in New York City: a "Christmas Vespers" service in City Hall. In fact, he dedicated his double-choir motet "Pueri Hebraeorum" to the Choir. After Thompson’s time with the Choir, Lowell P. Beveridge oversaw the group in 1929-1930, followed by Maurice C. Kirkpatrick in 1930-1931. Edward Barry Greene then became the director from 1932-1940; afterward, Margaret M. Winkler manned the podium from 1940-1948. From 1949-1953, Margaret Winker, Peter Waring, and Charles Reeve Shackford alternately directed the Choir. In 1953, William A. Herrmann, Jr. began a period of service to the Wellesley College Choir that would last over thirty years, during which important endowments to the Choir established two annual choirs: the Betty Edwards Dober '40 Memorial Concert, which first took place in 1964, and the Marjorie Copland Baum Concert that started ten years later in 1974. Following William Herrmann's retirement, director Constance DeFotis took the podium, and under her leadership, the Choir traveled overseas for the first time to perform several major works, including a new piece by composer William DeFotis. During DeFotis’ time, the Chamber Singers were established in 1988. 

Under the direction of Susan Davenny Wyner from 1994-98, the Choir performed the Brahms Requiem with the Harvard Glee Club, as well as Robert Levin's new edition of the Mozart Requiem with the Virginia Glee Club and members of the Boston Baroque. In two trips to Europe, Wyner directed the young women in universally acclaimed performances at St. Peter’s Basilica and the American Academy of Rome in Italy in the spring of 1998. Later in the fall, Brian Clarence Hulse took over the position. Under Hulse, the Choir performed the Pergolesi Stabat Mater and the Weber Mass in G; toured New York City, Washington D.C., and Florida; and commissioned several pieces from Boston composers including Marjorie Merryman and Jonathan Bailey Holland. The Choir also had the opportunity to record East, West of the Sun, a major work for women's voices by Wellesley professor Arlene Zallman. During the Choir’s 100th Anniversary Season (2000-2001), during the tenure of director Vincent Metallo, the Choir sang a concert of French spiritual music including the Poulenc Litanies de la Vierge Noire. In the same year, the Choir also performed Haydn's Creation with the Glee Club of the U.S. Naval Academy. 

In the Fall of 2001, the Choir welcomed Lisa Graham to the podium. During her first year with the Choir, she led a performance of English folk music and a tour to Montreal, Quebec. Under her leadership, the Choir toured every year,  domestically and internationally. In 2003, the voices of the Wellesley College Chamber Singers and Choir were featured in the motion picture Mona Lisa Smile, which was filmed on campus. Additionally, under Lisa Graham's direction, the choir has commissioned important new works by William Hawley, Kirke Mechem, David Childs and Joan Szymko, Abbie Betinis, Augusta Read Thomas, and Steven Sametz. Wellesley College is a charter member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, of which Dr. Graham is a founding member, former vice president, treasurer, and past president.

For the 2025–2026 academic year, the Wellesley College Choir and Chamber Singers groups will be led by Dr. Alyssa Cossey.

Dr. Alyssa J. Cossey is delighted to be serving as the Interim Director of Choral Activities at Wellesley College for the 2025-2026 academic year. Before relocating to Boston, she served as the Associate Director of Choral Activities at Coastal Carolina University and as an Assistant Professor of Choral Music at the University of Arizona. As a professional conductor, Dr. Cossey has conducted choruses at the secondary and collegiate levels and has prepared choirs to perform choral-orchestral masterworks, including Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, Handel’s Messiah, Britten’s War Requiem, and several works by Bach, including the St. John Passion. However, her true passion has been to expand the choral canon to include music from around the world with a focus on historically excluded composers.

 
As a Los Angeles native, she sang in the premiere women’s chorus, Vox Femina Los Angeles, under the direction of Dr. Iris Levine, 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 Dr. Sandra Snow and can be heard on their debut CD Ecstatic Songs (2018) and their sophomore album Home in Me (2023).

In addition to conducting and teaching, Dr. Cossey has a passion for research. 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 Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. Dr. Cossey holds a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, an M.M. in Conducting from California State University, Fullerton, and a BA from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Previously, she taught middle and high school choir in the L.A. area for nearly a decade. For additional information and resources, please visit www.alyssacossey.com.  

Emi Nishida is a Japanese composer and pianist, who started her musical training at the age of five. She joined the Yamaha Music Program in Japan and studied piano performance and composition. Her original works were selected for performance at the annual Junior Original Concert held by Yamaha in Fukuoka, Chiba and Tokyo (1998-2006). She started to compose pieces for piano at first, then broadened her field to small ensembles and contemporary pieces. At 11, she composed the song “Precious Friends” for her elementary school, still sung by students every year. She learned to play percussion instruments. Her work “Rhapsody” (2010) for xylophone, marimba, and flute, was performed at Tokyo High School Ensemble Contest and won a silver award. Her composition for 4-hand piano “Into the Wild” was performed at the International Piano Duo Competition and received the Special Chairman Award. 

Currently, she works for short film projects as a composer, is a keyboardist for several musical theater shows, and participates in various album recordings.