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 Cheryl
Coker, a native of Maryland, came to Millsaps College in 1984 as
an adjunct professor. She became a regular member of the faculty
in 1987. Professor Coker received her B.M.Ed. and M.M. (voice) from
the University of Southern Mississippi and the D.M.A. (vocal performance)
at the University of Minnesota. Her voice teachers have been Robert
Mesrobian, Vivian Wood, and Clifton Ware. She has coached with Richard
Miller, John Wustman, Martin Katz, Sylvia Plyler, Karl Paulnack,
Joel Revzen, and Christoph Lorenz.
As a soprano
soloist Mrs. Coker has performed with the USM Symphony, Tupelo Symphony,
and Mississippi Symphony, as well as choral/orchestral works at
Millsaps College. These performances have included such works as
Haydn's Creation, Mozart's Requiem, Rutter's Requiem,
Rutter's Magnificat, Beethoven's Mass in C, Honegger's
King David, and Brahms' A German Requiem. Operatic/theatrical
roles include Floyd's monodrama Flower and Hawk, Menotti's
The Old Maid and the Thief, Menotti's The Globolinks,
and Jones/Schmidt's The Fantastiks.
Of special interest
to Dr. Coker is the role of women in music. Her D.M.A. work included
an in-depth study of this topic. The repertoire of her students
reflects her keen involvement with women's studies.
An active member
of NATS, MTNA, and Federated Music Clubs, she has served as an officer
in each of these organizations at various levels, and her students
have fared well in NATS, MTNA, and Federated Music Clubs competitions
at state, regional, and national levels. Dr. Coker has served as
a music consultant for Mississippi Educational Television and New
Stage Theatre.
As a practicing
church musician, Dr. Coker has worked with children's choirs and
handbells in United Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches.
She currently conducts two children's choirs and adult handbells
at Madison United Methodist Church in the Jackson metro area.
Dr. Coker and
her husband, Timothy Coker, live in Jackson and have three children,
all of whom are Millsaps graduates. Timothy Coker is chair of the
Department of Performing Arts at Millsaps.
E-mail Dr. Coker
at cokercw@millsaps.edu.
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