Micaela Carballo
Michaela, a composer and conductor from Argentina, moved to London to study for a masters in Composition and Composition for the Screen at the Royal College of Music, with help from the Elizabeth Mary Morgan and Goodenough Scholarships
In my career as a composer, I composed classical music, music for plays and music for films. In 2018 and in 2020 I was awarded a Scholarship from the Argentinian National Endowment for the Arts. In 2019 I was selected to attend an intensive conducting workshop in Los Angeles, where I had to conduct and record two original pieces of music with the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra at Warner Bros Studios. In 2019 I was selected to attend the Society of Composers and Lyricists mentoring program in New York. Before the pandemic, my music was premiered in the Centro Cultural Kirchner, in the International Women’s Day concert (2020).
In the last years I was working in Argentina as a band conductor in the Argentine Air Force and I conducted the first Women’s Orchestra of the Armed Forces.
My life changed completely when I moved here. My career continues in London, and I am living at Goodenough College in a community of people from all over the world and from all academic areas: musicians, artists, lawyers, philosophers, physicists. All living in the same place, sharing experiences and culture. I didn’t know anyone in London, and when I arrived at Goodenough, after 10 days of being isolated, I really felt at home.
As a musician, living here is very inspirational. The first week, there was a concert and I played the piano. I met a lot of musicians and there are very talented people living here. After that, I played again on the Open Mic night, it was amazing! And I am collaborating with some of the musicians living here now.
When I want to compose I can stay in my room in complete silence or book a music room. When I want to play the piano I only have to invite another musician to play. When I want to spend free time, I can go to play tennis, which is one of my favorite sports and I only have to cross the street! If I don’t want to eat alone, I can go to eat at the Great Hall and make new friends. Goodenough College organises so many activities and events all the time that it is impossible to feel alone. Also, if you have an idea to organise something different, this is the place to do it!
