A music education teacher and composer, Grace Coberly ’21, writes music for people. “I like relating to other people through music,” they say.
A music education teacher at a Montessori school south of Boston, Grace Coberly ’21 also sings with Lilith Vocal Ensemble and the Boston Cecilia, and in their spare time, writes commissioned pieces for other choirs. Even with all these accomplishments, Coberly says one of their most memorable compositions was written and performed at Haverford during their sophomore year. On kazoos.
“I wrote a piece as a joke,” Coberly says, but soon the Haverford Kazoo Chorus (or Kazorus) became a reality, performing its single show in the Visual Culture, Arts, and Media building with audience members joining in on their own kazoos.
This kind of support was instrumental in getting Coberly’s now-thriving career in music off the ground. Haverford has no formal music education program, and the music department was tiny at the time—Coberly was one of just four music majors. “But everyone was so down to help me forge my own path,” Coberly says. “They’re ready to go on the journey with you.”
A native of the Chicago suburbs, Coberly had dabbled in music early on, but always considered it nothing more than a hobby. “I thought I was going to be a Bryn Mawr creative writing major and stats minor,” they say. A few music classes and a winter break spent assisting in a children’s music classroom later, and a new path had emerged.
