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Michael Rossi: Founding Artistic Director, MMF

Introduction to Michael Rossi. 3:10 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Post-Production: Lee Skye. Recorded via ZOOM 5/28/2025, Miami.

MICHAEL ROSSI is the founding artistic director of the Miami Beach Music Festival (nee Miami Music Festival, 2013). He is a musician, educator, and has conducted some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa.

As an opera conductor, he made his international debut conducting Plácido Domingo and the Chinese National Opera Orchestra in Beijing. He made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the premiere of Marcos Galvany’s opera “Oh My Son” and recorded the album.

The Miami Beach Music Festival (MMF) educates over 300 young professional musicians every summer over a six week period, working with some of the world’s leading performers and educators.

In July 2022, Rossi produced the first entire opera in a fully immersive theater setting in a groundbreaking production of “Das Rheingold” by Richard Wagner. Since then he has explored the technology’s possibilities, creating several audio-visual concerts in different venues, and he created a permanent immersive image performing venue in the historic Temple Emanu-El ballroom in Miami Beach.

The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 6 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 0:45 sec.

Where did you grow up, and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 0:25 sec.

When did you start playing music and what was your first instrument?

DEVELOP A VOICE: 0:45 sec.

Did you have a sense at an early age that music was going to be your passion and pursuit for the rest of your life?

VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION: 1:39 min.

Where did you go to school and what did you learn that still informs you today?

STRONG DRIVE FOR ACHIEVEMENT: 2:06 min.

Why did you move to Miami?

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 2:05 min.

How did you get such a huge response to your first outreach for the Miami Music Festival?

UNDERSTANDS ARTISTS’ NEEDS: 2:05 min.

What is your protocol from audition to acceptance?

UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART: 0:53 sec.

Is there any financial exchange between the performers and the Festival?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 1:56 min.

The Festival sounds like a HUGE amount of work. What kind of funding have you secured?

UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART: 0:28 sec.

How many paid staff members do you have?

NETWORKING: 1:45 min

How did your affiliation with Florida International University (FIU) begin and grow?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 1:42 min.

How much time do the Festival performers spend in Miami?

UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART: 2:28 min.

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

COMMUNITY VALUES: 4:28 min

Tell us about your relationship with The Betsy Hotel.

COLLABORATION: 1:14 min.

Do the classical music institutions of Miami cooperate or are they competitive?

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 1:26 min.

How many of your participants are from foreign countries?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 5:25 min

What are some of the Festival highlights for you? What exceeded your expectations?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 3:43 min.

Can you show us some of your concerts that include immersive projection mapping?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 0:58 sec.

Have you experimented with Artificial Intelligence?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 3:22 min

Tell us about the 2025 Miami Music Festival.

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 1:21 min

Are you creating performances year-round in Miami?

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 1:55 min.

Do you see yourself running the Festival for the rest of your life?