Choir conductor Rita Varonen. Photo: Sari Muhonen

 

Composer Jan Hellberg is conversing with Ms. Rita Varonen. Mr. Hellberg visited Cantinovum in spring 2005. Photo: Henna Suomi.

CONDUCTOR RITA VARONEN

Rita Varonen has been the conductor of Chamber Choir Cantinovum since 1993. Under her direction, Cantinovum has enhanced its reputation as one of Finland’s leading performers of new Finnish choral music.

Hungarian-born Varonen received her Master’s degree in choral conducting and aural training at the distinguished Liszt Academy in Budapest in 1987. She also completed a degree in wind band conducting and studied voice as one of her main subjects. Rita Varonen has studied conducting with István Párkain, Péter Erdein, László Heltay, Tonu Kaljuste, Jorma Panula, and Stefan Sjöld. Currently she is a Senior Lecturer of Choir Conducting at the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, Finland.

Rita Varonen has conducted choral and orchestra concerts throughout Europe and the USA. Apart from those she has released many CD's with various choirs, appeared in radio and television broadcasts, recorded and received prizes throughout EUrope and the United States. Besides Cantinovum, Varonen conducts Jyväskylä's Naislaulajat (Female Singers) and the Harjun Laulu (Hill's Song) mixed choir as well as on occasion the Jyväskylä Sinfonia (Symphony).

In 1996, Varonen was awarded the Harald Andersén Prize from the Finnish Cultural Foundation for her contribution to Finnish choral music. In 2001, she won second place in the Concorso Internazionale per Direttori di Coro Mariele Ventre, international choir conductor competition in Italy. In 2009 Varonen was awarded the prize of the best choir conductor at both the Slovakia Cantat Competition and ABB Bansa Bystrica Competition in Slovakia. The choirs present in those competitions were Jyväskylän Naislaulajat and Cantinovum. The Finnish Choral Directors’ Association selected Rita Varonen Choir Director of the Year 2004. She is in constant demand for workshops throughout the world.