Marissa Kerbel, Piano

From 2022-2025 Marissa was an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, performing several orchestral and chamber concerts with the ensemble each season. Other previous orchestral engagements include the Chicago, Milwaukee, Illinois, Missouri, Sioux City, Richmond, and Lima Symphony Orchestras.

Marissa’s performance career has recently included several vocal collaborative projects. In October of 2025, she premiered a new operetta by Paul Scherer alongside mezzo-soprano Eden Hensel. She previously workshopped and premiered an opera by Jacy Pedersen (2020) which inspired Marissa to commission a song cycle by Pedersen the following year in collaboration with baritone Patrick Mitchell.

Marissa is also passionate about educating the next generation of musicians. She maintains a thriving studio of private piano students in her home in Chicago and online across the United States. She is also the Music Program Coordinator at Wilbur Wright College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, where she teaches applied piano, class piano, music theory, aural skills, and music history courses. Marissa Kerbel studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Michael Chertock and James Tocco. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Piano Performance in 2019, followed by a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance in 2022 and a Master’s Degree in Music Theory in 2023. As a music theorist, Marissa has presented research at conferences including the Dutch Flemish Society for Music Theory’s Conference on Rhythm (2022) and the International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology (2022). Her research focuses on analysis of popular music, rhythm and meter, and twentieth century approaches to tonality. 

When not performing and teaching music, Marissa loves spending time with her dog Lili, discovering new vegan recipes, and getting out into nature.