John Cockerill has been Sarah Jane Johnson Memorial Church Musical Director May 2019. John is also accredited as the “Triple Cities Opera (TCO) Musical Associate since January 2018, and appeared as Manny in TCO/Theatre Street’s production of Master Class. He holds a M.M. in Musicology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a M.M. in Collaborative Piano from the University of Colorado-Boulder. This past summer, he joined the music faculty at Seagle Music Colony, where he music directed John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby. He has also served on the coaching staff at Des Moines Metro Opera, and he was the music director for the 2017 OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe. Passionate about contemporary opera, he is a company member of Chicago Fringe Opera, a storefront ensemble dedicated to presenting new vocal works written in English. He was a featured pianist on the album recording of Ross Crean’s new opera, The Great God Pan (Navona Records, 2017). In addition to TCO’s Madame Butterfly and The Tragedy of Carmen, recent opera credits include Turandot (Des Moines Metro Opera), Marìa de Buenos Aires (DMMO), As One (Chicago Fringe Opera), and The Barber of Seville (OPERA Iowa). Also active in musical theatre, he has music directed productions of Violet, Bonnie & Clyde, First Lady Suite, Xanadu, and High Fidelity, all in Chicago”.