Lyric coloratura, Marika Kyriakos joined the music faculty at Arkansas State University in 2008 as Coordinator of Voice and Director of the A-State Opera Theatre. Beginning in the fall of 2014, she served as Chair of the Department of Music for five years. Administrative work continued with the positions of Assistant Dean, Director of Fowler Center for the visual and performing arts, as well as Chair of the Department of Theatre. Currently, Kyriakos has returned to full-time teaching including voice, lyric diction, and opera. 

Both a singer and pianist, Kyriakos completed her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Texas at Austin. She has served as musical director in collaboration with the Department of Theatre productions, and as collaborative pianist for both opera and musical theatre. Aside from teaching, her favorite venture involves studying and performing abroad. For three seasons, she has taught voice and performed at the OperaMaya summer festival in the Mayan Riviera of Mexico. Kyriakos works diligently to enable students to accompany her on these foreign excursions, experiencing essential opportunities abroad at reasonable rates.  

International endeavors on her own have included conferences of the College Music Society (CMS). Kyriakos enjoys giving lecture-recitals on her dissertation topic, Clairières dans le ciel by Lili Boulanger. Her most recent international presentation on this subject was given in Buenos Aires at the CMS Biennial International Conference. She also values performing new music composed by her colleagues in composition. Memorable summer performances include new composition recitals in Sydney, Australia with CMS, as well as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at Sunway University.

Kyriakos also frequents performing at the Music by Women Festival at the Mississippi University for Women including recent collaborations with composer, Jerry Casey. She has enjoyed working with her husband, composer and pianist/organist, Brian Henkelmann, featuring his own works at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Southern Region Conference. Most recently she has worked with composer, Dr. Thomas McKenney and poet, Patrick Overton, on a set of songs for soprano and electronics.

In her spare time, Kyriakos travels to see her daughter, Nina Henkelmann, who is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas and very excited to be a new member of Alpha Phi. At home, distractions from her parents, the cat, three dogs and wandering strays are always welcome.