Wellesley POPS Senior Profile: High notes in high school—Louisa Rossano finds her forte in singing

Special to The Swellesley Report courtesy of the Wellesley High School Bradford and Parents of Performing Students (POPS). This is one in a series of POPS Senior Profiles we’ll be publishing.

Soprano notes, clear and crisp, soar across the stage. A solo figure stands in the center, arms raised as her powerful voice fills the grand Symphony Hall, heard by a rapt audience of thousands. Her mature voice and advanced vocal technique betrays her age: she is still in high school. 

Singing before an audience is not new to Louisa Rossano ’24. She’s been doing it for nearly her entire life. 

At the early age of seven, singing in her church choir and joining VOICES Boston, a children’s choir, Rossano quickly grew fascinated with singing. 

“I fell in love with how much joy [singing] brings to other people, and how beautiful it is,” Rossano said. “Music brings people together and forms an incredible community.” 

When Rossano was eight, she participated in her first opera as a baby fairy in A Midsummer Nights’ Dream. After that first taste of classical voice, Rossano has been a part of four other operas. She did George Bizet’s Carmen twice, then Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, then Puccini’s Tosca—all of which were big productions performed in multiple acts. 

“It was really fun learning all the music and hearing all of the opera students working,” Rossano said. “It was very cool to be able to get into that, and [these experiences] really sparked this love for it.”

And so began a flourishing career in singing that extended all the way to high school, where Rossano is now a part of multiple music groups. As a sophomore, she successfully auditioned for Keynotes, a select choir of advanced singers, and Inchordination A Cappella, one of the four a cappella groups at the high school. This year, Rossano is one of the music leaders of Inchordination, as well as an Intensive student in Overtones and Rice Street. 

For all of the different groups she is a part of, Rossano notes one commonality between them: they give her the ability to connect with other people and her audiences.

“It’s really fun when you have a group where you can talk about music and you can talk about other things; you have this mutual understanding,” Rossano said. “Specifically, for Rice Street this year, we’ve been a really fun group. We’ve all gotten to know each other better and have become better friends through our music with how much work we put in.”

During Rice Street rehearsals every red block, fellow singer and music leader Ritvick Abrol ’24 stands close to Rossano in their “arc,” or row, and enjoys the presence she adds to the class. 

“She’s always one of my favorite people to look at,” Abrol said. “Whenever she messes up or I mess up, we always look at each other and smile or laugh a little.”

When asked to describe Rossano, Abrol does not hesitate.

“She is so joyful. That’s the first adjective that comes to mind,” he says. “You can really feel [her joy] in rehearsals. When she approaches music, it’s always with enthusiasm and it’s always with passion.”

Dr. Kevin McDonald, who has taught Rossano for years as her high school choir director, has also witnessed the uplifting effect she has on her classmates. “[She] sets an example for all of our freshman and sophomore students…and her peers also hold her in such mutual respect that she does raise the level of performance around her,” he said.

Rossano’s joy and passion for music extends to her activities outside of school as well. She is involved in the Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses in the Choir of Sopranos and Altos and the audition-only Chamber Choir, sings with various church and community choirs, and takes voice lessons. 

“I personally focus a lot of my time on classical voice, so that’s like opera, Baroque, early-era music, the type of music you would just think of as ‘opera,’” Rossano said. “It fits my voice best and I love singing it.”

Emma Hammond ’24, who sings in the Handel and Haydn Society Youth Chorus with Rossano, finds singing with Louisa inspiring. 

 “Not only does she have an incredible voice, but she also validates those around her and creates a really uplifting atmosphere in general,” Hammond said. “I really admire her confidence.”

Rossano credits part of her success in singing to her participation in non-musical interests (yes, they exist). She has taken German and French, and is currently studying Italian.  

“All the languages definitely help with singing pronunciation,” Rossano says. “A lot of classical music is in English, German, French, or Italian, so it makes the diction a bit easier.”

Rossano is also an avid sailor, which she claims has done a lot to improve her confidence and communication skills by teaching her how to navigate a course and work with her team to win races.

However, not everything in her singing career has been smooth-sailing for Rossano. So far, her biggest challenge has been the time commitment. 

On top of four to five hours of a cappella rehearsal and one to two hours of in-school singing with Overtones and Rice Street per week, Rossano sings another five hours a week with the Handel & Haydn Society and practices for an hour at home.

“There’s a lot I’ve had to sacrifice; I’ve had to prioritize some concerts over others,” Rossano said. 

During the winter concert week last December, Rossano had a concert nearly every day—for both in-school and outside-of-school groups—which was “pretty crazy.” But she shrugged it off.

“Yes, it’s quite a big time commitment,” Rossano said, referring to all her singing activities. “But it’s so worth it.”

Hammond reiterates her dedication to improvement. “[She is] a very supportive, driven, and caring person; Whether it’s about academics, friendships, or just bettering herself as a person, she puts her entire self into whatever she’s working on,” said Hammond. 

Indeed, Rossano’s persistent effort and involvement with music has paid off, leading her to make her mark in the high school’s decorated Choral Department. Her numerous accomplishments include being awarded the WHS Underclassman Choral Award, being selected as a member of the Senior District chorus for two consecutive years, and most recently, performing with the Boston Pops in a show called Video Games Live last June at Symphony Hall, in what Rossano called her “most memorable musical experience at the high school.”

“It was my first professional solo opportunity,” Rossano said.

One day, during practice, Choral Director Dr. McDonald approached her with the opportunity to perform a soprano solo in Korobeiniki (Tetris Opera) for the finale of Act 1 of the show.

McDonald asked Rossano if she can sing the solo in Russian, and unsurprisingly, she said yes. She learned the music, had a zoom call with the team from Video Games Live, and after just one rehearsal on the day of the concert, it was decided: Rossano’s voice would be perfect.

“Performing the challenging Russian solo in a sold-out Symphony Hall with my peers was a life changing experience,” said Rossano, who credits McDonald with pushing her to become a better musician. 

Rossano only had 1.5 weeks to learn the part. In preparation for her performance, she met with her voice coach and relentlessly studied and researched Russian. 

“It was one of most phenomenal undertakings I’ve ever seen a student do here,” said Dr. McDonald.

Music will continue to be a part of Rossano’s foreseeable future, as in her words, she can’t go a day without singing. Next year at Harvard University, Rossano hopes to join an a capella group, or one of the two student-run opera companies on campus. 

Whatever Rossano may pursue next in her singing career and education, there appears to be no doubt that she will give it her all, finishing each endeavor on a high note, to the familiar sound of resounding applause. 

Article written by WHS Bradford ‘s Lily Jin ’24, Arts Editor, and Hannah Lee ’25, Assistant Opinions Editor.