TMA149 Members

Roan Ma is a multi-faceted musician passionate about creating space within the classical music world where diverse voices are represented. During the past several years, her work has focused on rediscovering music and musicians obscured by time and social constrictions, as well as introducing contemporary repertoire. In March 2020, she presented a lecture-recital, Female Baroque Composers Hidden in the Male Canon, at the Rutgers University Musicological Society’s Graduate Student Conference. In May 2020, she presented her paper Problems in Progress and Preservation Within Music Conservatories at Columbia University’s “Facing Climates” Graduate Student Conference.

Roan received her BM and MM degrees in violin performance from the Manhattan School of Music, graduating from her Masters with the 2018 Hugo Kortschak Commencement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chamber Music. She then received her Master of Music Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College in 2020, where she was a recipient of the Teachers College Scholarship, Florence K. Geffen Scholarship, and Music Education Departmental Scholarship. During her decade-long tenure in New York City, Roan performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall. She also worked at Manhattan School of Music’s Orto Center for Recording Arts and Distance Learning as both a Recording Engineer and the Recording Arts Manager. Currently, Roan is pursuing a DMA in violin performance at the University of Toronto.

Recent accomplishments include a performance as soloist with University of Toronto’s Contemporary Music Ensemble in Giacinto Scelsi’s violin concerto, Anahit (1965). Roan was awarded the 2023 France-Canada Cultural Exchange Experience France Award, allowing her the opportunity to attend IRCAM’s ManiFeste 2023 in Paris. She was also chosen to participate in Continuum Contemporary Music’s 2023 HATCH mentorship program. At the University of Toronto, she was selected to be a 2023-24 Irene Miller Chamber Music Fellow.