BT Does Opera: The Story of Yoni Rose ‘04

Once Yoni started singing, he continued to develop his talent and perform in Beth Tfiloh’s South Pacific, Oklahoma, and Les Miserables. To this day, he can’t walk the halls of BT without hearing a favorite memory about his performance in Les Mis—and he is thrilled to know that the school will be putting on another Les Mis production this year.

Following High School, Yoni took a gap year with Young Judea Year Course, but then returned to study at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). Once in college, Yoni joined the Maryland Men’s Choir, where he was encouraged to audition for the UMD Music School. Before he began his musical career, Yoni decided to join Nahal in the Israel Defense Forces for a year. He says his service in Chevron and the Lebanese border was a defining time in his life. Upon returning to UMD, he busied himself with learning everything about music and received his Bachelors of Music and Masters of Music in Music, Vocal Performance, and Opera Performance in 2013.

During his summers as a student, Yoni performed at festivals which helped him realize how much he enjoyed singing opera. As a result, he strengthened his resolve to become a professional opera singer and was hired by the Sante Fe Opera Company in New Mexico. With them, he covered leading roles, played some small roles, sang some concerts, and participated in some choruses. Later, he spent three months with the Portland Opera, based in Portland, Oregon, to perform in a traveling La Boheme production, for which he was able to perform in over 40 shows. Yoni also spent time in Charlottesville, Virginia as a performer and is currently working on a production of an all-Jewish cast of Rigoletto in Baltimore, set to open in March. Thankfully, Yoni also graced Beth Tfiloh with his talents this fall, singing
in the choir with the Hazzan Avi Albrecht during the High Holy Days in the Dahan Sanctuary.

Although Yoni lives in Baltimore with his wife, Miriam, he is currently in Germany for an audition tour with agents and opera houses. He hopes to secure a year-long contract there as a performer, beginning next fall. Between January and May Yoni will be in Baltimore working as a voice teacher. He has several students already and says he loves working with the Orthodox community, since the classical technique he teaches is uniquely suited for a community accustomed to singing without the aid of microphones on Shabbat.  Anyone who would like to receive voice lessons from Yoni is encouraged to call him at 443-803-7458 or email him at yonirose19@gmail.com.