Carissa Scroggins | Music and Theater | SIU

Carissa Scroggins serves Southern Illinois University as Voice Area Coordinator, Opera director, and Associate Professor of Practice in Voice. She has her Doctor of Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Colorado with a secondary emphasis in musicology (2021). Dr. Scroggins participated in the prestigious National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Intern Program in 2024. Dr. Scroggins is an active member of several music organizations, including NATS, National Opera Association, Opera America, College Music Society, and Music Teachers National Association.

Carissa Scroggins has a diverse performance resume, having been invited to perform in operas, oratorios, and concerts across the country. Her most performances have been as Mother Abbess, The Sound of Music [2025] and Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors [2024]. Moving forward, Carissa Scroggins is building a reputation as a Nordic languages art song interpreter, as well as a specialist in new music.

Carissa Scroggins’ current research is focused on lullabies as an art song repertoire choice and teaching community classes in how to sing to babies. Her article “Lullabies in the Western European Classical Art Song Canon,” was published in Akshar Wangmay (2024). Dr. Scroggins has a recording titled Beautiful Dreamer: a collection of classical lullabies She is also writing an opera for undergraduate voices with young audiences in mind that she hopes to use at SIU in the near future.