Alejandro Roca
“Teaching is mostly inspiration and guidance. My passion for helping young opera singers comes from a love of the unlimited possibilities of the human voice and the use of languages, as well as a deep understanding of the theater world. I encourage my students to explore the nuances of the text and to find their own artistic personalities through a musically and stylistically informed context in order to help them to build personal and musical skills to express themselves freely during their professional career.”
Alejandro Roca
Opera coach and conductor Alejandro Roca’s recent engagements include performances of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona, new productions with the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, performances with the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra of Falla’s Master Peter’s Puppet Show, and debuts with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Cláudio Santoro National Theater in Brasilia, Brazil. Rocahas collaborated with such renowned conductors as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Gustavo Dudamel, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Josep Caballé Domenech, Patrick Fournillier, Hilary Griffiths, Gérard Korsten, and Miguel Roa. Roca has appeared in recital with numerous vocalists around the world and has recorded music by several Latin American composers. Since 2006, Roca has served as a conductor and pianist at the Opera of Colombia, in Bogotá, and his repertoire includes more than 70 fully prepared operas and zarzuelas.
Roca serves as Lecturer in Music/Opera Coach at the Yale School of Music. He previously served as Opera Coach and Director of the Opera Workshop at Central University, in Bogotá, and at Scuola Italia’s summer program for young opera singers in Sant’Angelo in Vado, Italy. He has also been a member of the faculty at the University of Antioquia, in Medellín, and at Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogotá, and has served as Director of the Cartagena International Music Festival’s academic program. Roca’s pedagogical experience includes the presentation of master classes at Indiana University and the University of Michigan in the United States, Nayang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, Capela di Santa Maria in Curitiba, Brazil,and the University of Valle and the University of the North in Colombia, among other institutions.
Roca earned his master of arts degree in orchestral conducting from the National University of Colombia and his bachelor of arts degree in piano performance from the Antonio Maria Valencia Conservatory in Cali. He also pursued postgraduate studies at Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona.
