Rucsandra Popescu (Romania) | J-Cappella Conductor
The Jacobs University Choir, or J-Cappella as we all know it, has been in existence since 2007. In 2008, Rucsandra Popescu took over as the choir conductor and gave it the shape it exists in today. It hasn’t always been the easiest for her – every year, there’s a new choir dynamic, and sometimes, there aren’t even enough students. “It’s always a question of ‘do we have a choir this year?’, but I’ve been lucky, I would say. Here at Jacobs, we’re a club, so I take one year at a time,” said Rucsandra.
Rucsandra was a student of composition, conducting and pedagogy at the conservatory in Bucharest, Romania. She first came to Germany in 2002 for a year as an Erasmus student, and attended the university of Oldenburg. She returned to Romania to complete her diploma, but was soon invited to Oldenburg again, as an apprentice to the Romanian composer Violeta Dinescu. Not long after, she moved to Bremen, where she attended the conservatory to receive higher accolades in composition.
For Rucsandra, the most important aspect of her work is professionalism. “Being professional is a long but essential process. From the moment you walk into the concert hall to the moment you leave, the clothes you wear, the way you talk to the audience, the way you garner respect from them – all of it is part of being a professional.” She emphasises this to the choir very often; she ardently believes that professionalism is crucial in all walks of life.
At every small or large event at Jacobs, the choir has a scheduled performance, and one worth looking forward to. However, it’s the spring and the Christmas concert by J-Cappella that is most anticipated. “It’s very intensive, organising these events, but with help from the dynamic choir board, we manage to organise a concert. These concerts are like a goal that the choir works towards,” said Rucsandra.
Rucsandra’s favourite part of her work at Jacobs University is getting to experience the incredible diversity first-hand. “Everyone comes from a different background and everyone sings differently. It puts me in an interesting situation, because it is a fun challenge to bring homogeneity to the choir. All the students have a different kind of talent. I love working with this diversity.” Outside of work, Rucsandra likes to go on walks and to listen to music. “My work is my hobby, it’s the perfect mix. When I’m not working, I compose and I explore as much music as I can.”
The choir and Rucsandra have also travelled to competitions and concerts across Europe; one of their most notable performance was that of Beethoven’s 9th symphony with the Philharmonia of the Nations and the Brahms Choir of the Bremen University of Applied Sciences at the New Year’s Concert at “Die Glocke”, the concert hall in Bremen, in 2010. At the International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music in Prague in 2012, J-Cappella was crowned with 2 silver diplomas. As much as these competitions have been memorable achievements in the choir’s books, Rucsandra believes that they are nothing more than places to learn. “We don’t want to show anything. It is a learning space, where we observe other choirs and gain experience,” she said.
Being a choir conductor is no easy job, but Rucsandra makes it look like a piece of cake. When we asked her what she does to maintain discipline in choir, she mentioned that it all works on mutual respect for one another. “I don’t want to establish myself as an authority. For me, it is important to show the students that we must reach our goal together, learn together and grow together. And this teamwork is based on respect and trust. We also try to have a good chemistry, and we have that this year,” beamed Rucsandra.
The choir rehearses with Rucsandra in the Interfaith House and performs at most major shows at Jacobs.
BY USHASHI BASU (INDIA) | CLASS OF 2020 and CAVAN YONG (MALAYSIA) | CLASS OF 2021
