Catherine Roma

Catherine Roma (DMA Choral Conducting, College-Conservatory of Music, 1989) believes choral singing is a path to justice, inclusion and love.  Roma founded her first women’s choir in 1974 (Madison, WI), founded Anna Crusis Women’s Choir in Philadelphia (1975), and founded and directed MUSE, Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir for 30 years (1983-2013). 

Roma believes that commissioning music, especially by women composers, with texts that touch our lives, coupled with insightful repertoire selection and artful programming, are all indispensable tools for the choral conductor.

Roma recently retired from Wilmington, a small Quaker college, where she was professor of music for 25 years. Through her association with Wilmington College and their dedication to prison education, Roma founded UMOJA Men’s Chorus at Warren Correctional Institution (1993). UMOJA won gold in the Spirituals and Gospel categories at the 7th World Choir Games (July 2012, Cincinnati) when three international judges came to the prison to hear them compete. UMOJA recorded three CDs, rewarding local charities with over $5,000 from the proceeds.

Roma served as minister of music at St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church for 29 years and retired from the Martin Luther King Chorale, a community chorus she co-founded and co-directed for 22 years. Since retirement, Roma founded UBUNTU Men’s Chorus, Madison Correctional (2012), Hope Thru Harmony Women’s Choir, Dayton Correctional (2014), and the World House Choir (2012), a 100-voice community peace and justice choir is southwest Ohio.

Roma calls all of her choirs “choral communities” because she believes choral communities inspire, motivate, educate, and heal an ailing world.