Ariel Alvarado

Ariel Antoinette Alvarado, from the Metro Atlanta area, is a conductor, vocalist, and scholartist dedicated to restorative justice and student empowerment through culturally responsive pedagogy. Ariel moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 2023 to serve as the inaugural Ridout Teaching Fellow, a year-long, full-time fellowship for BIPOC conductors and educators with the Wilmington Children’s Chorus. She currently serves as the Education & Outreach Coordinator of Elevate Vocal Arts, the Assistant Conductor and Director of Community Programs of the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, the Assistant Director of the Wilmington Children’s Chorus, and the soloist at First Church of Christ, Scientist in Newark, DE.   

Ms. Alvarado earned a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from The Ohio State University. There, she served as a Graduate Teaching Associate for the Choral, Music Theory, and Music Education departments, studying with Dr. Robert Ward, Dr. Robert Bode, and Ms. Jordan Saul. Ariel is a proud graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, GA where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music. She had a dual concentration of Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting. She studied voice with Ms. Laura English-Robinson and studied conducting with Dr. Kevin P. Johnson and Dr. David Morrow.  

Ariel holds membership with organizations such as the American Choral Directors’ Association, Chorus America, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., and Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for Women. Ariel makes meaning with the world around her through music and is journeying to leave the world a more beautiful place than she found it.