Alyssa Spina is a Pre-Candidate of Historical Musicology at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Musical Studies with a concentration in Music History and a Certificate in Violin Performance from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, where she graduated at the top of her class with advanced honors.

As a musicologist, Alyssa specializes in Dmitri Shostakovich’s reception in America during the Cold War and the American reception/concertizing of Holocaust music. She is also a member of the SUNY Potsdam Kilmer Lab project, “Diversifying the Violin Curriculum for Private Teaching.” She has presented her research at conferences across the United States, including the American Musicological Society Annual Meeting (AMS), the American String Teacher’s Association National Conference (ASTA), the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), and SUNY Potsdam. Her research has received widespread acclaim and awards, including membership in the AMS Explore inaugural cohort, the SUNY Potsdam Faculty Senate award, and first place in the humanities at SUNY Potsdam’s Learning and Research Fair for two consecutive years.

As a violinist, Alyssa has performed with the Orchestra of Northern New York, collaborated with the nationally recognized Lake Placid Sinfonietta, served as principal and assistant concertmaster of the Crane Symphony Orchestra, and served as concertmaster and a concerto soloist with the Half Moon Orchestra. She placed first in the Crane School of Music’s 2026 Stephan String Chamber Music competition, performing two movements from Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8, leading the Rice Krispie Quartet. Alyssa has studied violin at the University College Cork in Ireland and was a member of SUNY Potsdam’s Mariachi ensemble, Los Osos del Norte.

Alyssa’s primary musical studies mentors are Erin Brooks (SUNY Potsdam), Alexandrea Jonker (SUNY Potsdam), Timothy Yip (SUNY Potsdam), and Gabrielle Cornish (The University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Alyssa’s primary violin instructor was Liesl Schoenberger Doty (SUNY Potsdam).

Please see my resumè and contact me with any questions or inquiries.