Ciara Cornelius

Ciara Cornelius is a multi-faceted musician with diverse experience in Choral Performance, Conducting, and Teaching. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Ciara sang with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus from the age of 10 through high school. She has sung under the batons of many conductors, such as Lorin Maazel, Leon Botstein, John Adams, and Ludwig Wicki. Ciara has also performed on David Letterman with the band Manchester Orchestra, and has collaborated on works with Grammy-award-winning artists in The National and Arcade Fire. Through this work, her love for music quickly developed from a hobby into a deeply fulfilling career in music.

Ciara holds a Master of Science in Music Education from Nazareth University with conducting studies under Dr. Eric Rubinstein and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College (CUNY). In addition to her work in choral performance, Ciara holds a full-time music teaching position in the Geneva City School District, teaching 3 – 5 General Music and Chorus. During the summer, she serves as the Director of Arts in Action at The Hochstein School in Rochester, NY.