Intro

 Rona Park (she/her) is a unique and multi-talented individual artist who is a classically trained composer, pianist, soprano, librettist, conductor, music director, and designer active and resident in New York City. Her compositions include solo instrumental works, solo piano, duets, trios, string quartets, chamber works, choral works, orchestral works, film scoring, and opera.

Rona was born in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in Tokyo, Japan, from an early age during her childhood before moving to the United States. She has lived in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and New York City to continue her music studies and build her career. She began her bachelor's degree in classical vocal performance, later studied music computer technology, and ultimately shifted her focus to classical composition, earning her degree from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in Boston, MA. Simultaneously, she continued her opera studies and moved to New York City, where she completed her Master’s degree and Professional Studies Diploma (PSD) in Classical Composition at the Mannes School of Music.

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Rona is naturally gifted in art, born with perfect pitch, and grew up in a musical family heavily involved in church music. Her first piano and voice teacher was her mother, who is also a pianist and soprano. She began playing the piano at an early age, participated in her first public performances, auditioned for singing and piano competitions, and performed solo. She was accepted into an advanced children's choir, where she sang on various stages at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater. Additionally, she joined the church choir early on and became the primary pianist and accompanist during her teenage years.

She developed an interest in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) during her teenage years, writing multiple songs that earned her recognition at the Contemporary Christian Music Youth Festival. One of her songs was selected for a premiere, and she performed her own music at the La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. This experience sparked her interest in contemporary music and music technology.

Rona earned the Deborah Ehrich Merit Award and Scholarship to attend the Governor’s School as a singer, where she performed No. 13 Scene and Aria, 'Ardon g’lin censi,' from Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti for her final stage performance.

She began her Bachelor of Music (BM) in Classical Vocal Performance at the Boston Conservatory and later studied Music Computer Technology at Berklee College of Music. She subsequently switched her major to Classical Composition and completed her degree at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in Boston, MA. Notably, she was the first vocal performance major to successfully transfer to the Composition major and gain acceptance into the composition department without needing additional years of study or examinations. During her time there, she completed works for solo flute, string quartet, a duet for voice and piano, and a trio for violin, clarinet in B♭, and piano, all within a short timeframe.

Rona holds a Master of Music (MM) and a Professional Studies Diploma (PSD) from the Mannes School of Music at The New School, where she graduated as a composition student with Mannes Merit Scholarship awards in New York City.

She was commissioned to perform her own chamber piece, “Like a Butterfly,” and arranged “Amazing Grace” at the NAPAW Memorial Concert held at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Terrace Theater in Washington, D.C. Additionally, she has received commissions from the Boston Young Composers Ensemble and various soloists, resulting in numerous premieres.

Rona has participated in multimedia performances, playing piano with a chamber orchestra for The New School’s Silent Night Movie Project, and she composed music for short films premiered during the Spring Cinema Project. Two of her vocal pieces were premiered at the OPERA America National Opera Center as part of NYFOS Next: Composer, a concert featuring her composition teacher, Lowell Liebermann. Furthermore, her selective chamber work was premiered at the Listening to Ladies concert in Manhattan, New York, by Vent Nouveau.

She is an active performer, music director, and composer, creating works in a variety of styles beyond classical music, and is recognized as a uniquely multi-talented artist.