By the time she started her undergraduate studies in cognitive science, Coco Ma had already finished her master’s in piano performance at Yale School of Music (YSM), graduated from The Juilliard School and won numerous top national and international prizes. She had written what would become her first published novel, a young adult fantasy called “Shadow Frost,” at 15, and followed that up with a second, “God Storm.” She was accepted into the Yale School of Music’s graduate program at the age of 17.
While at YSM, she took a class called “Neurolinguistics,” which delved into the relationship between the mind and language — and in her case, music. This initial fascination propelled her into exploring cognition from many angles and, in particular, from a performance psychology perspective. She also became excited by how she could use her studies in human behavior to help her write compelling stories and characters.
When she made the decision to continue pursuing cognitive science at Yale College, Ma says she was pleasantly surprised to find that the experience felt just as rewarding as anything she’d ever done.
“Being a conservatory student means spending a lot of time alone practicing, having lessons, and interacting with a fairly intimate group of people who are in your studio,” said Ma. “Shifting to Yale College felt like a new beginning. Getting to spend time with first-year students was such a shot of energy and vitality.
“I made a lot of new friends from different academic backgrounds. They were interested in subjects that I’d never heard of, which led to interesting conversations and debates. These were moments of connection that I wasn’t really used to having.”
A native of Toronto and member of Benjamin Franklin College, Ma is now graduating with a degree in cognitive science, her latest accomplishment after a total of seven years at Yale. She credits the last two years with awakening yet another passion: performing in and composing for musical theater. The thrill set in with her first production, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” as part of a thesis seminar. For the show, she served as assistant music director, played piano, and learned how to play the accordion. It wasn’t just the performing that excited her, she said, but the people.
“The students who perform in these productions and the ones who are behind the scenes doing lights, stage management, sound and production, they’re talented, yes, but also warmhearted and welcoming and full of energy,” Ma said.
She went on to co-write and compose a musical called “Doomsday,” performed in the premiere of a new musical, “Isaac in Motion,” worked on a production of “Chicago,” and, in what she considers the “crowning achievement of her Yale musical theater career,” served as music director and orchestra conductor for a production of the Stephen Sondheim musical “Company,” at Yale’s Off Broadway Theater.
“Sondheim is my favorite music theater composer, so getting to do ‘Company’ was like a little dream come true for me,” she said.
Coco Ma performing in “Chicago.”
She’s also been deeply engaged at Benjamin Franklin, where she has helped organize a ski trip for around 50 students over the past two years. In her freshman year, she established a sci-fi/fantasy club with the support of her Head of College, and hosted an event with best-selling fantasy author Holly Black.
Her favorite Franklin memory is performing on its inaugural Christmas album — and every year since — with her band, as well as fellow Franklinites, a tradition they started during their freshman year.
The album is produced in the college’s recording studio, and released on Spotify.
Meanwhile, Ma has continued to write fantasy novels. She signed a contract with Penguin Random House a couple of years ago to write a duology, and published the first installment, “Nightbreaker,” in 2023. She will complete final revisions on the sequel this summer, now that her final semester is coming to a close, and work on a screenplay adaptation.
“I wanted to really devote time to not just school, but the experience of being at Yale and getting to spend time with my friends and meeting new people,” she said. “Just savoring every last moment of this college experience.”
Come August, Ma is off to Los Angeles to pursue “all things related to film and television. Performing, writing, hopefully eventually directing,” she said. “Just finding opportunities to make music and tell stories.”
