Ben Coakley

Ben Coakley is a choral conductor and baritone based in Amherst, Massachusetts. Ben serves as conductor of the All Campus Choir at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the choir of the First Congregational Church of South Hadley. He also sings with Novi Cantori of Greater Springfield.

Ben holds a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from North Park University, where he graduated at the top of his class. He has presented workshops on Early Childhood Music and on Singing for Transmasculine Singers. He served as the assistant conductor of the Queer Joy Chorus in western Massachusetts.

He received two competitive apprenticeships with Berkshire Choral International, performing in Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony and Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard, in which he portrayed Matthew as a soloist. In spring 2026 he appeared as a guest conductor for the Berkshire Concert Choir’s spring concert entitled Questions and Answers.

Ben also performs as a baritone soloist and plays banjo and melodica with the Expandable Brass Band. He is currently training to run the Chicago Marathon this fall.