Artistic Director

Dr. Rachel Cornacchio currently serves as Professor of Music and Director of the Graduate Program in Conducting at Messiah College where she teaches graduate courses in choral literature and applied conducting, and undergraduate level courses in curriculum and instruction in the areas of choral and elementary methods. Dr. Cornacchio serves as Conductor of the Messiah College Women's Ensemble.

As a public school educator, Ms. Cornacchio served as an elementary general music specialist in Peekskill, NY and director of choral activities at Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, NY. While in Newburgh, choirs and soloists under Dr. Cornacchio's direction received top honors at solo and ensemble festivals.

Dr. Cornacchio enjoys presenting many different styles of music.  In addition to district and region choruses, she has been invited to work with jazz choirs, church choirs, and community choirs.  Most recently she has worked with “modern day hymn writers,” Keith and Kristyn Getty on both their Joy: An Irish Christmas and Hymns for the Christian Life tours.

Community organizations with which Dr. Cornacchio has worked include the Newburgh Symphonic Chorale and the Oregon Young Women's Choir. She serves as Artistic Director of the Sing for the Moment Choir, which is comprised of persons in the early to middle stages of memory loss, and their care partners. In April, 2018, Dr. Cornacchio will debuted a new choir, Threefold Cord Women’s Choir. The choir, comprised of women from the east coast, seeks to mentor women of all ages through choral music.

Dr. Cornacchio holds a B.M. in Music Education from Nyack College, the M.M. in Choral Conducting and M.M.E. from Florida State University, and the Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Oregon.  She has studied choral conducting with Rodney Eichenberger, Andre Thomas, Sharon Paul, and Paul Liljestrand. Dr. Cornacchio has presented interest sessions at regional, state, and international music conferences.  She appears frequently as adjudicator, clinician, and honor choir director throughout the Northeast.  Her professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, American Choral Directors Association, and Pi Kappa Lambda.