Patrick Rooney
Patrick Rooney's first experience with writing music happened at the age of fourteen. At that time he was only writing simple songs he could play on his guitar and sing. After spending about a year working on writing and promoting these simple songs, a friend convinced him to join choir in his sophomore year of high school. He was immediately sold on choral music. His first choral composition was an arrangement of Amazing Grace which was written the summer following his sophomore year. Patrick showed this arrangement to the director of the high school's top choral ensemble, of which he had now become a member. A few months later, the piece was performed at the St. Olaf college chapel while there on tour.
In the process of arranging Amazing Grace, Patrick discovered his life’s true passion. Throughout high school he continued composing, and learning all he could about music. He participated in two years of Colorado'sAll-State Choir, became section leader of his high school ensemble and, by the end of high school, he had conducted his choir's performance of one of his original choral pieces, Ashes to Ashes. He also received a performance of a piece for Piano, Cello, and Flute written for the Cleveland Institute of Music'sYoung Composers summer program.
Patrick began his collegiate musical studies at the University of Northern Colorado in the fall of 2010. In March of 2011, Patrick was declared the winner of the Ars Nova Singers “2011 Colorado Composers Competition.”As part of the reward for this win, the Ars Nova Singers, who many regard as one of the best professional choirs in the rocky mountain region, performed his winning piece, Winter Stars, at their 25th anniversary concert.
In the spring of 2012, the chamber choir at the University of Northern Colorado, PrimaVoce, of which Patrick is a member, traveled to Vienna, Austria and Prague, Czech Republic for a performance tour. During that tour Patrick conducted multiple performances of his 2011 Composition, Nunc Dimittis. The piece was well received by both European and American audiences. Six months after returning from Europe, Patrick and his Nunc Dimittis won Imagine Music Publishing's Pathways Composition Contest.
Available Compositions