Margot Cohen is a conductor, vocalist, and educator from Rockville, Maryland. Before beginning her studies at Georgia State, she spent three years teaching choir, AP Music Theory, and piano at Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, where she also music-directed spring musicals and worked as a contracted director in the community.

She holds a Bachelor of Music Education in choral music from the University of Maryland and a B.A. in Music Performance from the University of Pittsburgh. During her undergraduate years, she performed with the UMD Chamber Singers and the Heinz Chapel Choir, serving as choir president in 2017–2018.

After graduating, she sang with the award-winning 18th Street Singers in Washington, DC. Alongside her choral work, Margot has a long-standing love for musical theatre and continues to perform in productions whenever she can.

Lyza is a mezzo-soprano with an intense work ethic and love for performing and musicology. She is often described by peers, coaches, and directors alike as a well-prepared, reliable musician and positive presence, and she is so excited to be working here at Shallowford!

Lyza graduated from Simpson College in 2025 with a degree in Vocal Performance (BM) with an emphasis in choral conducting, and is currently in her first year attending Georgia State University for a Master’s Degree in Opera Performance. In the recent past, Lyza’s worked as both professional performer and conductor, most recently being conductor-in-residence for a summer choral chamber series in Des Moines, performing the role of Mother in The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti, and playing The Witch in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

When Lyza is not on stage performing, she enjoys baking and researching 20th century music history — a special interest being the Second Viennese School.