MARROLLI, Karen

Karen Marrolli is an American composer, conductor, clinician, and sacred music director born on March 4, 1975, in Mount Holly, New Jersey. She received comprehensive training in composition and conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, earning a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Composition (1997) and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and Sacred Music (2000). She later earned a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University (2010). Based in the American Southwest, Marrolli has led diverse choral ensembles, youth choirs, and community arts programs, serving as Director of Music Ministries at Central United Methodist Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while remaining in demand nationally as a choral clinician.

Her compositional catalog centers primarily on contemporary sacred and secular choral literature, distinguished by expressive melodic arcs, rich contemporary diatonic and modal harmonies, and sensitive text setting. Marrolli frequently composes her own lyrics or sets contemporary poetry focused on social justice, human connection, and spiritual renewal. Among her widely programmed concert and liturgical works are "Sing Unto the Sky" (SATB and piano, published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing), "Until Love Is Spoken" (a reflective anthem emphasizing compassionate reconciliation), "The Stranger’s Guise" (commissioned for the 2022 Presbyterian Association of Musicians Worship and Music Conference), and her Celtic-influenced setting "O Pulse of My Heart" (A Chuisle Mo Chroí).