International opera singer and UL graduate finds a new voice through music therapy

From performing on some of the world’s greatest stages to supporting people through some of life’s most challenging moments, new University of Limerick graduate Paula Roche has transformed a lifelong passion for music into a career dedicated to helping others. 

Originally from Three Mile House in County Monaghan, Paula graduated this week with a Master of Arts in Music Therapy from UL, marking the latest chapter in a remarkable journey that has taken her from international opera houses to hospitals, rehabilitation settings, and perinatal mental health services. 

For more than a decade, Paula, who also performed professionally under the name Polly Greenwood, was a member of the chorus with Welsh National Opera.  

Following studies in Dublin, London, and Cardiff, she enjoyed an extensive performing career throughout the UK and internationally, appearing in countries including Hong Kong, Dubai, and Oman, and performing for the then Prince Charles, now King Charles III. 

Reflecting on her career, Paula described life in opera as exhilarating, creative, and all-encompassing. 

“One week you could be flying through the air in a rocking chair, the next you could be dressed as a tree in a contemporary opera, and then performing as a witch in Macbeth,” she recalled. “It was incredible. My whole identity was wrapped up in opera.” 

However, like many performing artists, Paula’s world was dramatically altered by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“When theatres closed, everything stopped. Performing wasn’t just what I did, it was my purpose, my community and my connection with other people,” she explained.  

“It made me think differently about the role music plays in people’s lives and how it might be used in a more direct and meaningful way.” 

That reflection ultimately led her to UL’s pioneering Master’s in Music Therapy programme. 

The decision represented a significant career change, but one that Paula said felt surprisingly natural. 

“I didn’t want to leave music behind. I wanted to find a way to use it that involved direct connection with people. Music therapy offered that opportunity,” she said. 

The transition was made easier by an unusual family connection. Paula’s husband Joe, also a former Welsh National Opera tenor, had completed the same programme before her. 

“I got to see the change in him and the way the course encourages you to think differently about music,” she said. “In performance, everything is about perfection. In music therapy, it’s about being present with another person and meeting them where they are.” 

Professor Hilary Moss, Course Director of the MA in Music Therapy in UL’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, said: “UL is the only place to offer an MA in Music Therapy on the island of Ireland. We attract a very high calibre of students and the programme is always oversubscribed.  

“Paula is a shining example of the high-level musicianship, professional skills, and clinical understanding that we nurture on the programme.” 

Through clinical placements at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and Tipperary University Hospital, Paula witnessed first-hand the impact music therapy can have across a variety of healthcare settings. 

One experience in particular confirmed she had chosen the right path. 

Working with a woman living with aphasia following a stroke, Paula discovered how music could create meaningful connection beyond spoken language. 

“She was a bright, engaging and multidimensional person whom I had the privilege of getting to know over several months,” Paula said.  

“Music allowed us to communicate in a different way. Sometimes I would play the piano while she conducted with her left hand. Other times we explored familiar songs and created music together. 

“Through those shared experiences, I came to know much more of her personality and expressive capacity. It deepened my appreciation of the many forms communication can take and how music therapy can create space for a person’s voice and identity to be experienced beyond spoken language.” 

Alongside her clinical training, Paula developed a particular interest in perinatal mental health, an area she explored during a placement where she helped pilot a perinatal music therapy programme at Tipperary University Hospital. 

Now working as a research assistant on UL’s ARISE programme, working with ethnic minority women and migrant women who have had a reproductive health journey in Ireland, Paula continues to explore how music can support people through major life transitions. 

Central to the approach, she says, is choice and collaboration. 

“A person is always invited rather than expected to participate. They can sing, play, listen, talk or simply be present. Sometimes the most valuable part of a session is that it offers a moment of pause, a space where someone can slow down, feel supported and reconnect with themselves.” 

As she graduates from UL and begins the next stage of her career, Paula believes her years as an opera singer continue to influence her work as a therapist. 

“Touring around the world gave me a real appreciation of music as an international language,” she said. “It connects people across cultures and reaches beyond many of the usual barriers to communication.” 

Now based in Clonmel, County Tipperary, where she is setting up her private clinic, Paula joined more than 3,000 students graduating as part of the University’s autumn ceremonies. 

While her career path may have changed, the guiding thread remains the same. 

“Music has always been about connection,” she reflected. “The difference now is that I get to experience that connection directly, one person at a time.” 

Offering advice to anyone considering a career change, Paula is emphatic: 

“It’s never too late and you’re never too old. Nothing you’ve done before is wasted because you bring all of that experience with you. If something gives you purpose and leads you towards something meaningful, then you have to give it a go.”