Mariana Rosas has had quite a journey – literally and metaphorically – in reaching the highly sought-after post of Chorus Director with the London Symphony Chorus (LSC).
Mariana Rosas, LSC’s new Chorus Director (c. Robert Garbolinski)
Mariana Rosas’ CV at a glance
1994 – aged 7, goes to the opera with her parents at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and falls in love with the opera Hansel and Gretel
1996 – aged 9, starts the conservatoire, where she studies piano and joins the children’s chorus
2003 – aged 16, wins a scholarship to study in Italy
2005 – aged 18, returns to Argentina; studies for five years for a BA in Choral Conducting at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes, then for a postgraduate diploma in Contemporary Music (ensemble conducting) at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel de Falla, in Buenos Aires.
2009/2011 – progresses from Assistant to Choral Professor
2018 – aged 31, moves to the UK to study for a master’s in choral conducting with Simon Halsey at the University of Birmingham
2019 – works with Crouch End Festival Chorus on a conductor’s mentoring scheme; also with the Royal Opera House Youth Opera Company
2020 – works with the Birmingham Opera Company; also with the inclusive choir Soundabout, an online choir for young people with learning disabilities
2021 – wins second place in the Dima International Music Competition for choral conductors; works with the National Youth Choir and London Youth Choir
2022 – becomes an Associate Choral Director with LSC and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Birmingham; works with Rundfunkchor Berlin and City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
August 2023 – appointed Chorus Director, London Symphony Chorus
Article Contents
On a journey
Mariana Rosas is more than 11,000 km from her home in Argentina. It’s a long, 14-hour, flight. Her music career has also taken her on a long journey, from after-school conservatoire and piano lessons, via Italy on a coveted scholarship, back to Argentina for more than a decade, and then finally – five years ago – to the UK.
It all really started when she was seven.
“My parents took me to Teatro Colón, the Opera House in Buenos Aires, to see Hansel and Gretel. It had a children’s chorus. I immediately told my mum ‘I want to be there!’.”
Her parents didn’t hesitate to develop Mariana’s enthusiasm. They too loved music. They even met in a choir. Her father, who is now a doctor, played guitar and acted, while her mother, who studied singing and piano, worked as a lab technician.
They managed to get Mariana, aged 9, into a state-funded after-school music conservatoire, where she learnt piano and joined the choir.
At 16, Mariana was one of just two Argentinian students to win a scholarship to an international school in Trieste, in Italy, to obtain an International Baccalaureate. But she couldn’t leave music behind.
The school had a choir, but it had been disbanded after its conductor had passed away. Not one to be shy in coming forward, Mariana asked her tutor if she could help set up the choir again. He said, ‘Here is the key to the music room’ and supported her in not just setting up, but in conducting, the choir.
“I still remember that first rehearsal. I was 17, I had no training as a conductor. But that day I realised everything I liked doing – singing, acting, being part of a team – merged into that role. Since then, I wanted to be a choral conductor.”
Returning from Italy to Buenos Aires, Mariana took a degree in choral conducting. She also completed a diploma and then a post-grad ensemble conducting qualification in contemporary music.
Mariana was keen to once more think outside the box, creating new opportunities for conductors at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes in Buenos Aires, where she studied and later worked.
“Since I was a student, I tended to see what was missing in terms of our education and to create those spaces.
“I started organising choral masterclasses with guests from abroad and, after a few years, I was offered an important role in arts management in the university’s music department, organising and planning a strategy for the development of students and also the community. I also worked for the Department of Arts and Culture in the Contemporary Music area.
“I was a professor at the National University of Arts and founded the Contemporary Music Vocal Ensemble. The ensemble won several awards and participated in the Contemporary Opera Festival at Teatro Colon. I was also often engaged as guest chorus master, including the Argentinean premiere of Coro by Berio, also at Teatro Colon.”
But Mariana kept singing as well as conducting.
“I worked as a singer at the Conservatoire of Buenos Aires, in the professional ensemble conducted by the choral conducting students.”
Her work also took her to youth choirs in less affluent parts of Buenos Aires.
“For four years I was part of the orchestras and choirs programme at the city of Buenos Aires, working in the most deprived areas of the city creating musical opportunities for young people. With one of these groups, I co-chorus mastered the children’s chorus for a professional production of La Bohéme at the Teatro Avenida.
“All these experiences, working with people of all ages and abilities, helped me be more versatile, and learned how to adapt to different scenarios.”
Moving to the UK was just one example of her ability to adapt. It came about after one guest masterclass conductor, an Argentinian based in Switzerland, suggested to Mariana that she should go abroad to work. He also suggested she contacted Simon Halsey, professor of music at the University of Birmingham (who was also Chorus Director with the LSC).
“In 2017, I went to see Simon at the World Choral Symposium in Barcelona. There, I found out that he was teaching a masters in choral conducting in Birmingham.”
Mariana applied and, with her music teacher husband Rodrigo, moved to Birmingham in 2018.
“Our plan was only to come for a year, but Simon encouraged me to stay and work here. It was just before Brexit and we had Italian passports because we both have Italian ancestors, which made it very straightforward. So we decided to stay.”
Work starts in the UK
“I started to work in September 2019 – and then came Covid. All my work went online. I learnt to record and edit videos, to become tech-savvy, and carried on.”
She was also accepted on a newly-created choral conducting mentoring scheme with a north London-based choir – Crouch End Festival Chorus.
“The first thing that amazed me was the repertoire they did and how versatile they were. It was fantastic – half a year working the choir, until Covid, and half a year working online with their conductor David Temple, which really kept me motivated. What I like the most is the choir transmit that love and passion for music whatever they are singing.”
Coming from a more rigid choral conducting training in Argentina, Mariana was learning fast how things were different in the UK.
“Something I’ve learnt from Simon and from David is that there isn’t just one way of doing things; not to be dogmatic or have fixed ideas about what is the ‘right’ way of doing things. They both transmit so much inspiration for the music and really feel their passion.”
Expect the unexpected
Mariana’s schedule, working with numerous choirs, may appear a little taxing. But some of the work with the youth choirs happens in school holidays, while work with the opera chorus comes in chunks. So, travelling two evenings a week from Birmingham, where she lives, to London for LSC rehearsals is less arduous than it sounds.
Her adaptability – and unflappable nature – have already been on show with the LSC. Just one example came early in summer 2023, when she conducted the soundtrack recording for the film Maestro, about the life of Leonard Bernstein.
The film is directed by Bradley Cooper, who plays Bernstein. Cooper had spent years observing world-class orchestras in preparation for his role, playing Bernstein as a conductor. The world-famous conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin had been closely involved in the film. Both were at the London recording.
It was certainly a star-studded day. Mariana rose to the occasion, always professional, with a calm, ‘can-do’ approach throughout. Whatever might have been going on inside, she appeared totally in control.
“It’s like, in a plane if you see a hostess run, you know you have to panic. Part of my job is to make sure people don’t panic.”
But it’s not the first time Mariana’s been under high pressure and in the spotlights.
“I did sing with the Rolling Stones for their Argentinean tour in 2016. And I sang the Argentinean National Anthem at a rugby match in Twickenham last year – and we won!
“I thoroughly enjoy being involved in a rich variety of musical scenarios, and I think each experience informs somehow the musician and leader I am.
“Maestro was particularly special because it was one of my first engagements with the LSC. I met Yannick before we started recording and he was wonderful and welcoming. At the end both he and Bradley came to say hello and we could see they were pleased with how the day had been. It was a day I’ll never forget. I am so proud we are now part of the official soundtrack of the movie.”
Mariana is happy to admit she is very much a planner. “I usually have a plan B and a plan C. I’m happy to change plan if circumstances demand it.”
So how does she relax in her spare time? She smiles as she admits she is learning to row, in a Birmingham reservoir. “It’s not very a very romantic venue,” she laughs.
She and Rodrigo are lucky to live near woods in their Bearwood home, in north west Birmingham. Together, they walk their rescue dog Beto, who features on the home screen of Mariana’s mobile phone. “He has the soul of a German Shepherd and body of a Corgi,” says Mariana affectionately.
But relaxing from music isn’t always easy. “I like to read, but I can’t always concentrate on books. During the pandemic I wanted to do something with my hands, so I learnt to crochet and I’m learning to sew.”
First woman
Mariana gives a warm chuckle of delight when asked how she felt when she got the LSC job.
“It was amazing. Obviously I wanted it, but getting it – I lack the words to describe it, but it was utter joy. I was so grateful and also felt a sense of responsibility: that this is big and I need to channel all my energy into it.”
When the news hit Argentina. Mariana was all over the headlines, giving endless radio and TV interviews.
“They made a big thing of the fact I was the first woman to get this role. I understand why this is important, but also feel we need to work towards changing the focus. In an ideal world, the fact that I am a woman wouldn’t even be a part of the news.
“I feel I belong to a generation that is lucky enough that some others have broken the glass ceiling before us. But I think our challenge – our duty – is that we have a responsibility to be as good as we possibly can for the people that come after us. I feel we still a need to prove that there isn’t a hint of doubt that we are doing the job that needs to be done, regardless of gender. That women are perfectly capable of doing this job just as well.”
As if to test her skills from day one, Mendelssohn’s Elijah is quite a challenge. Where did she start?
“I started with the words. I got a Bible to get the context of what it’s about. I sat at the piano and play and sang through everything and trying to start understanding the macro– and micro structures. I sang all the voices, so I make sure I have embodied the piece.
“For Elijah I had the privilege and honour of meeting LSO’s Chief Conductor Designate, Antonio Pappano, himself. He was very open – in some things we sung it through together to make sure we were understanding each other. That’s something I really like, preparing the piece so someone else can conduct it.”
The right mindset
It’s not just about her own preparation but that of the choir members too. Warm ups are already the norm, but she sometimes includes warm downs at the end of rehearsal.
“The voice is our instrument and for that we invoke our whole bodies – our posture, breathing, our facial muscles – to make the sound we need to achieve. LSC is a choir of very experienced, but not necessarily professionally trained, singers. And many have had a whole day of working.
“The warm up is one of those moments we can set the base of healthy singing, for as long as we can. Bad technique or bad posture can have an impact on our sound. It’s important we see singing as a whole-body experience. It’s also about getting into the right mindset before the rehearsal. I think I have a responsibility for singers’ vocal health.”
The LSC‘s membership reflects the capital’s international profile, with singers from all over the world. What more does Mariana think the choir might do to make it even more diverse?
“I think choral music has historically been under the patrimony of a particular group of people and that’s not something one single choir can change.
“What we want is that choral music is available for people who wouldn’t necessarily have thought about that as an option. Then maybe they don’t like it – and that’s fine. The fact that we think choral singing is the best thing that can possibly happen to you, doesn’t mean everybody else will feel that way.
“I’m for creating opportunities and making singing available. One thing that is important is to work with younger people because, when you are old enough to join LSC, if you haven’t had a certain background you are going to find singing with LSC very challenging.”
But there’s more to be done than just encouraging a more diverse membership: she’s keen for all LSC members to be more engaged in communicating with their audience in a meaningful way.
“In a big choir it’s easy to feel anonymous. I’m talking about a mindset – that how you stand matters. Just seeing the singer holding their black folder is not always enough.
“Choral music is storytelling and the more we do that, the more people will engage with that. We live in a world where we get so much information all the time, if I go to see a choir and they are not engaged, it’s not going to be as good as it can be.”
For now, Mariana doesn’t want to be drawn on specific choral pieces she’d like the choir to perform. But, given her musical interests, it would be no surprise if it were outside LSC’s traditional repertoire.
“I feel at home with very contemporary music. The music is complex but it’s important we create those spaces for that music to come alive.
“And that’s something I will never say ‘no’ to!”