Bringing music alive for audiences and sharing its unparalleled value with modern listeners, Suzanne Rome is passionate about conducting a diverse and compelling repertoire. She performs an array of traditional as well as underexplored works, and embraces new works by contemporary composers.
Dr. Rome has conducted numerous professional and university orchestras across the United States and Europe. Some engagements have included the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in the Czech Republic, the University of California Irvine Symphony Orchestra, the Webster University Chamber Orchestra in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Pleven Philharmonic in Bulgaria. Her conducting debut in London occurred in December 2022 and in Iceland in April 2023. She served as an assistant conductor for the Muncie Symphony Orchestra (recently renamed Orchestra Indiana) from 2016–2019. She also served as an assistant conductor for the Tony Award winner, Sutton Foster, on her album, Take Me to the World. Dr. Rome was selected as one of three finalists nationwide to participate as a graduate conductor for the 2018 CODA National Conference in California, and was also selected as a Conducting Fellow with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania during their 2015–2016 concert season. She is a strong supporter of encouraging the talents of young musicians and has also served as a substitute conductor for the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Ovation Youth Orchestra with the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association.
Originally from Colorado and a multi-instrumentalist, Dr. Rome has studied privately on a number of orchestral instruments. This broad experience carried over into her own studio, which she managed for over ten years. Many of her students were continually selected for honor ensembles both domestically and internationally, and have continued to pursue music in higher education.
Dr. Rome earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Adams State University, a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from Louisiana State University, and a Doctor of Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from Ball State University. She also holds a doctoral certificate in Entrepreneurial Music from Ball State University and launched her consulting business, The Musical Tie, in 2021. As a devoted advocate of entrepreneurial endeavors, Dr. Rome strives to help others create their own path in the music industry where individuals can serve numerous communities around the globe.
Her primary conducting mentors have included Jacob Chi, Carlos Riazuelo, Diane Wittry, and Douglas Droste. In a continual effort to enhance her conducting artistry, she has also studied with Neil Varon from the Eastman School of Music and with renowned artist and master teacher, Joseph Gifford, in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Rome has also studied lyric dictation for Italian, French, German, and English.
Additional conducting experience at the university level includes the Taylor University Symphony Orchestra, the LSU Symphony Orchestra, the LSU Philharmonia, the Ball State Symphony Orchestra, the Ball State Campus Orchestra, the BSSO Chamber Orchestra, and the Ball State New Music Ensemble.
Her university teaching experience also includes music theory; labs in sight singing, ear training, and music dictation; form and analysis; music education classes; basic music for classroom teachers; the supervision of student teachers; as well as string techniques and conducting. Dr. Rome has served on music adjudicator panels, curriculum committees, hiring committees, and financial and budget committees.
Research interests include music and social justice, environmental conservation, and the concepts and theories of musical semiotics. Her dissertation titled, “A Musical Rhetorical Analysis and Performance Perspective of Franz Berwald’s Sinfonie Singulière,” develops a method for analyzing instrumental works using the musical rhetorical figures of Johann Scheibe and Johann Forkel to aid performers and conductors in their performance interpretation.