Rita Varonen – Kamarikuoro Cantinovum

Rita Varonen has been the artistic director of Cantinovum since 1993. Under Varonen's guidance, Cantinovum has established itself among Finland's leading choirs performing new music.

Background

Varonen graduated as a choral conductor from the Liszt Academy in Budapest in 1987. She also holds a degree in wind orchestra conducting and has studied singing. Varonen studied choral conducting under István Párkai and Péter Erdei and has participated in courses led by László Heltay, Tõnu Kaljuste, Jorma Panula, and Stefan Sköld. Currently, Varonen works as a lecturer, teaching choral and orchestral conducting, and is a sought-after choral conducting trainer worldwide.

Career

Rita Varonen has conducted choir and orchestra concerts across Europe and the United States and has appeared in radio and TV broadcasts both in Finland and abroad. Her choirs have recorded and won awards in both national and international competitions. In addition to Cantinovum, she conducts Jyväskylän Naislaulajat, the Finnish Orthodox Cantor Choir, and the wind orchestra Aalto. Varonen served as the artistic director of the Finnish Women's Choir Association from 2007 to 2015.

Awards

Rita Varonen was awarded the Harald Andersén Prize by the Finnish Cultural Foundation in 1996 for her significant contributions to Finnish choral culture. In the same year, she also received the conductor's prize at the national women's choir review in Kokkola. In the international Mariele Ventre choral conducting competition held in Italy in October 2001, Varonen placed second. The Finnish Choral Conductors' Association named Varonen Choral Conductor of the Year in 2004. In 2009, Varonen was named the best choral conductor at the Slovakia Cantat choir competition and the ABB Banská Bystrica choir competition. In 2012, the Finnish Singers and Musicians Association Sulasol awarded Varonen the Klemetti Prize for her distinguished work with choirs and choral singing.