MJ Paranzino :: Musical Director

Musical Director

MJ can be contacted to direct musical events, large or small.

MJ is regularly approached as a musical resource, producing and arranging small ensembles of sophisticated vocalists as well as grand-scale musical projects involving mass voices and musicians. She can assemble these for private parties as well as major public events.

MJ's track record as a choral director is impressive. In 2003 she launched the Brighton City Singers, followed by the South London Choir in 2006, and in January 2010, she started The West London Choir – with a combined vocal force of over 200 singers. The members are all ages and from all walks of life. The choral repertoire ranges from classical to gospel, musicals to swing, jazz, pop and new music. The choirs perform regularly at Royal Festival Hall and for the past seven years at the Brighton Festival Fringe. It is central to MJ's philosophy that composers should be given the opportunity to have new work performed. The choirs have sung pieces by composers from all over the world - Brazil, Australia, America as well as the UK.

In November 2009, MJ was a guest conductor for the British-American Friendship Concert - Hands Across the Sea For Humanity - at Central Hall Westminster with a massed 300 member chorale, featuring both of MJ's choirs, The Brighton City Singers and The South London Choir.

MJ is available as guest conductor for a wide range of musical events both in the UK and overseas.

In 2007, MJ arranged the vocals as part of Bacardi’s national advertising campaign and is the musical director on the IMAX documentary, 'Wild Ocean' written and produced by the creators of ‘STOMP’, which has international distribution.

In 2006 she arranged 90 voices, a 25-piece brass band and 15 djembe players to perform her commissioned (by Sir Terence Conran and Bluestorm) composition ‘Viva Moderne’ – the grand finale of the Embassy Court restoration attended by thousands of people on Brighton’s seafront.

Another example of an original project was working with a troupe of tango dancers who performed a dramatic dance piece to her composition 'Vocal Tango' – in tandem with the Brighton City Singers and a small instrumental ensemble. This is one of a number of pieces she has worked on with dancers and choreographers including several projects with Laban Contemporary School of Dance.