Ligia Pop: Founder and Artistic Director

Ligia's experience and education has been gained from 17 years of musical training. She started studying music when 6 years old at the School of Music in Tulcea, Romania. She then followed intensive courses at the "George Enescu" Lyceum of Art, also in Tulcea - courses in music theory, history, choir direction, musical harmony, piano, folk music, contrapoint and vocal interpretation. She also participated in the school choir. She completed her pre-conservatory training by sitting for a professional examination in the disciplines of music theory, hearing and history, followed by a baccalaureate examination.

Ligia was also part of her church's children's choir from an early age. Her joy of singing was rewarded by the success of concerts held 2 to 3 times each month. From the age of 4 to the age of 17, she participated in the same choir of 30 children, which she then had the wonderful opportunity to direct just two years after graduating from it.

She began doing this in the summer of 1998, when she was asked to prepare the choir for a special concert dedicated to children. She directed half of the songs, and was then asked to accept leadership for an entire Christmas program, composed of: organizing parents and children, preparing and making costumes, artistic, musical and literary preparation. This concert was a success which emboldened her to continue her work.

She continued her choir work even while attending the conservatory, and in 1999, organized, coached and conducted another Christmas Concert. This time, 70 children between the ages of 5-18 participated. The repertoire consisted of foreign songs personally translated and arranged in the Romanian language.

Ligia attended the College of Music at "Ovidius" University in Constanta, Romania. Her major was Vocal Interpretation of Music, and she sang as a Soprano and Coloratura Soprano.

In the winter of 2002, she conducted a choir of 45 children in a Christmas concert. This was a public event / community outreach program organized in the city of Constanta for charitable purposes. She personally organized every aspect of the concert, including advertising through the use of 500 hand-made invitations. Invited instrumental soloists and assigned them specific solo and accompaniment parts. These combined efforts awakened such interest in the event that 450 people from the community were in attendance.

During 1999-2002 and 2003-2004, because of her busy academic schedule, she stepped back into pianist, musical / artistic collaborator for various choirs (children and adults) from cities nearby Constanta.

In 2004, she successfully completed an official licensure examination that consisted of research work and vocal interpretation.

She is now a piano teacher in Rockville, MD, where she is known for her patience and love of working with children. She also holds fun music camps for children, where she teaches them the basics of music.

She has a dream of putting together a children's choir that will combine vocal quality with the desire of praising God.

Raoul Pop: Audio-Visual, Computers, Website

Raoul is Ligia's husband and an Information Technology Consultant. You can find more information about him here and here.