Photo: Iida Liimatainen
Rita Varonen has directed the Jyväskylä Female Choir since 1993. She received her master’s degree in choral conducting from the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. She also has a degree in wind band conducting and has studied singing.
Rita Varonen is an internationally renowned choir conductor. She won 2nd prize in the Mariele Ventre International Choir Conductor Competition in Italy and was awarded Best Choir Conductor at the Slovakia Cantat and Academic Banská Bystrica competitions. The Finnish Choral Directors’ Association selected Varonen as Choir Director of the Year in 2004. In 2012 Sulasol awarded her the prestigious Klemetti Prize in recognition of her work for Finnish choral music.
Rita Varonen is senior lecturer in orchestral and choral conducting at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences. She is also a sought-after expert at training events and judge in international choral competitions.