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Meet Katie Rose (singer and choral music enthusiast.)
Katie Rose is an innovative and versatile vocal artist, whose work spans performance, writing, choir direction, and voice coaching.
In our hugely enjoyable interview, I created Katie's fantasy cultural year from the answers to some easy questions. Expect surprises, anecdotes, laughs, and conversational detours. (Interview summary below.)
Known for her transformative approach to voice, song, sound, and language, Katie was praised by The Guardian as a “fine singer” and described as “an eye (and ear) opener” by fRoots Magazine.
Her album, Flame (2021), follows three previous releases and includes a piece composed for Road to Peace (2012), an award-winning documentary about the Dalai Lama.
Katie’s recent performance in Across the Lines, a collaborative piece with Randolph Matthews, builds on her previous work in The Benefactress, Gill Manly’s play starring Joanna Scanlan at Croydonites Festival (2022–2023), as well as her involvement in the genre-crossing project Croydon Composers (2017–2018).
Katie’s impact extends to her written work and media contributions. Currently, she serves as Assistant Editor for the Women in KNX column at KNXtoday Magazine and is a columnist for Turning Point Magazine.
Her journalism and poetry have appeared in publications such as fRoots Magazine, The Croydon Citizen, and anthologies like Corvids & Others (2020). She also shares her insights and inspirations on her Rambling Rose Blog and Vocal Revolution Podcast.
As a choir director, Katie has a long-standing commitment to community singing, which she believes can create accessible, inclusive, and healing experiences.
She has co-directed Sing for Water London for WaterAid (2017–2023) and led the Festival of Peace Croydon (2018), featuring community performances with the London Mozart Players.
Katie directs Welcome Choir and has arranged music for over 20 choirs, including those within NHS England and organisations like Mind and Breathe Arts Health Research.
Katie’s dedication to helping others harness the power of their voice extends to her work as a voice coach, with over 20 years of experience guiding creatives across music, film, theatre, and TV.
An insured member of the Natural Voice Network, she also volunteers with the expert team at Lewisham Hospital Voice Clinic, furthering her holistic approach to vocal wellness.
Interview summary
My interview with Katie was a dive into crafting her “fantasy cultural year,” a journey that explored her dreams, artistic influences, and core values as a musician dedicated to well-being and community.
Based in London, Katie is not only a singer and writer but a passionate advocate for the healing and connective powers of the human voice. Her vision involves creating meaningful cultural exchanges worldwide, merging the arts with emotional and social empowerment. Here’s a look at the highlights and experiences that unfolded in this vibrant, fictional yet thoughtfully curated year.
Starting Point: The Heart of London’s Culture and Connection
Katie’s cultural year would begin with an immersive experience at London’s Southbank Centre, where she feels most inspired. For her, the Royal Festival Hall serves as a sanctuary, overlooking the Thames and bustling with artistry and expression, a true nexus for her reflective and creative work. She imagines herself here, with a collection of Rumi’s poetry beside her and a decaf Earl Grey tea, absorbing the city’s energy and drawing inspiration from the people and art around her. This location sets the tone for a year steeped in global culture, where every setting serves as a wellspring of ideas and connection.
Exploring Africa: Music, Movement, and a Foundation for Well-Being
At the core of Katie’s fantasy year is a project that allows her to explore the intersections of voice, community, and well-being across Africa. Supported by a fictional London-based family foundation, her journey would be fully funded, logistically managed, and broadcast-ready, complete with plans for a Ted Talk, a book, and a documentary series to share her findings and insights.
Katie’s journey would begin in South Africa, where she has long been fascinated by the resilience, harmony, and cultural significance of choral music, particularly that of the Soweto Gospel Choir. Her goal would be to explore how music, especially choral music, has played a vital role in supporting communities through moments of adversity and celebration.
Her travels would then take her to Ghana and Nigeria, where she would delve into Afro-Caribbean rhythms, the unique harmonies and storytelling traditions, and end in Egypt, tracing the ancient roots of musical and spiritual expression in North Africa.
Curated Cultural Experiences: A Year-Long Immersion in Global Arts
Katie’s journey is peppered with diverse, culturally immersive events, each carefully chosen to deepen her understanding of how music and the arts resonate across different societies:
Dance Performance: Upon arriving in South Africa, she would attend a premier local dance performance, fully immersing herself in South Africa’s unique choreography and musicality. To enrich her understanding, she’d let the local guides surprise her with the most authentic performance, ensuring she is fully present in the moment.
Cuisine and Cultural Exchange: For a true cross-continental experience, she would indulge in Middle Eastern cuisine, especially resonant in North Africa. With her preference for Turkish and North African dishes, she would experience the shared culinary heritage that flows across the Mediterranean and brings people together over food and conversation.
Sport and Movement: With a love for dance, Katie envisions trying her hand at local dance forms and other artistic sports, aligning with her desire to experience performance through movement. Her ideal Olympics would be less about competition and more about collaborative growth, showcasing community and the journey of discovery over the typical contest of skill.
Virtual Reality Art and Artistic Icons: An Inspiration-Filled Journey
To enrich her cultural perspective, Katie would explore Cape Town’s innovative digital art gallery, stepping into virtual reality to experience the vibrant works of Georgia O’Keefe. Known for her expressive flower paintings and landscapes, O’Keefe’s art would inspire Katie with its bold colours and textures, offering a new dimension to her understanding of beauty, growth, and life’s mysteries.
Katie’s ideal cultural week would involve seeing a mix of live performances and cherished art forms:
Pop Concert: A vibrant Salsa concert, featuring renowned Venezuelan artist Juan Luis Guerra, where Katie could dance freely, connecting with her love of Salsa and Latin rhythms.
Theater Performance: Katie would select Carol Churchill’s Top Girls, a powerful exploration of gender and identity, themes close to Katie’s own work in empowering people through voice and storytelling.
West End Musical: She would finally get the chance to see The Lion King, the acclaimed musical based on African culture and music, deeply connected to her interests in harmony, community, and resilience.
Opera: For her love of choral music and dramatic storytelling, she would attend Madam Butterfly, a classic that combines beauty and tragedy.
Film Screening: She would watch The Woman King, a recent film featuring Viola Davis, which portrays a community of female warriors in colonial Africa. This story of resilience and empowerment aligns with Katie’s commitment to using art as a force for personal and societal transformation.
Heroine’s Day: A Dream Luncheon with Iconic Creators
During her journey, Katie would have a special day devoted to celebrating her inspirations. For a leisurely lunch in Cape Town, she would invite Eric Whitacre, the world-renowned choral composer known for his ability to capture human emotion and beauty through choral harmonies.
This lunch would be more than a meal—it would be an exchange of ideas on choral music’s power to heal and unify, something she admires deeply in Whitacre’s work.
Katie would love Whitacre to invite his own hero, perhaps a conductor or choral master who has influenced his work, creating a gathering of artists passionate about the transformative power of voice and community. The addition of Bernstein or a pioneering female conductor could round out this gathering, making it a true celebration of both legacy and innovation in choral music.
A Culmination of Wisdom, Art, and Advocacy
At the close of her fantasy cultural year, Katie would return home to a warm welcome, with her project documented and ready to share with the world. Her Ted Talk, book, and TV series would all reflect a year of personal discovery, new friendships, and deepened purpose. Katie’s year would be a testament to the idea that art, especially music, has a unique power to transcend borders and nurture empathy, compassion, and well-being on a global scale. With her vision made real, she would continue her life’s work, inspired and recharged, with an ever-deepening understanding of the beauty and power of the
human voice.
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Mark Walmsley FRSA FCIM AGSM
Chief Culture Vulture
Arts & Culture Network
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