Music at Noon: Kimberly Barber and Friends: Biographies

Jan. 21, 2026

Performers are listed in alphabetical order below.

Kimberly Barber

Kimberly Barber has been on faculty at Laurier since 2002. After a storied and eclectic career in opera (Chicago Lyric, Seattle, Frankfurt, Canadian Opera Company, Montreal, New York City Operas), concert (Mostly Mozart Festival, NY, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Montreal Symphony, Cincinnati Pops), recital (Wigmore Hall, 92nd St Y, Merkin Hall, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall) and recording (Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, Teldec, CBC) over the last 40 years, Kimberly has moved more firmly into vocal pedagogy, Body Mapping and more recently, academic leadership since 2017 when she became Associate Dean of External Relationships, Partnerships and Grad Studies here in Laurier’s Faculty of Music. A collaborative artist at heart, this program represents the many years of work together at Laurier and beyond with colleagues, friends, mentors and students past and present.

Xander Bechard

Xander Bechard was a member of Kimberly Barber’s studio from 2018-2022. Accomplished in both classical and musical theatre, Xander has performed multiple roles with Opera Laurier under Kimberly’s supervision (Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmelites, Laurie in Little Women, The Narrator in Into the Woods) as well as making their debut with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in 2023’s La traviata. Xander also performed the iconic roles of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls and The Emcee in Cabaret with KWMP, and most recently debuted as Papa Ogre in Shrek with Drayton Entertainment.

Jeremy Bell

Violinist Jeremy Bell is a longstanding member of the Penderecki String Quartet, Laurier’s String Quartet-in-Residence. With the quartet and as a soloist, he has performed extensively around the world at venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, State Museum of Music in St. Petersburg, Disney Centre in Los Angeles, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre. He teaches violin and chamber music at Laurier and is the artistic director of QuartetFest and the Leith Summer Festival. He has collaborated with Kimberly Barber in music from Respighi to Schoenberg to Jefferson Airplane.

Kate Carver

Kate Carver has been Music Director and Course Instructor of Laurier’s opera courses for the past three years, working closely with Kimberly Barber and guiding such productions as Little Women, Into the Woods and later this month, Stephanie Martin’s The Llandovery Castle. An experienced vocal coach and conductor, Kate has taught at U of T’s Opera Division for the past 2 decades, and conducted numerous productions for Toronto Operetta Theatre, Toronto’s Gilbert and Sullivan Society and many more.

Brennan Connolly

Brennan Connolly is Musician-in-Residence (Percussion) and works alongside Kimberly as Associate Dean Curriculum and Planning in the Faculty of Music. He has been studying the traditional drum-dance music of Ghana, West Africa with master drummer Kwasi Dunyo, and works as a professional percussionist across numerous musical genres and styles. He performs regularly with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Jeans ‘n’ Classics Rock Symphony and has also performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic, London Symphonia and Windsor Symphony Orchestra. An active theatre musician, he has also performed many shows in the pit at the Stratford Festival and with Drayton Entertainment.

Delaney Dam

Delaney Dam graduated from Laurier’s Voice Performance program in 2024 (with Jennie Such), and completed her Opera Diploma (with Allyson McHardy) in 2025. Throughout her time at Laurier, she worked closely with Kimberly Barber, whether in studio classes, opera (as Jo in Little Women, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro) or in her Directed Study entitled “Marketing a Singer”. She is currently Kimberly’s Instagram guru while completing her Masters of Opera degree at U of T!

Leslie De’Ath

Leslie De’Ath was Professor of Piano and Music Director of Opera Laurier for more than 3 decades, retiring in 2019. Both an accomplished soloist and coveted collaborative partner, Les has performed and recorded with many illustrious artists, including the late, great Maureen Forrester on this very stage! He also performed numerous programs with Kimberly Barber and even conducted her in his final performances at Laurier in Massenet’s Cendrillon. A champion of lesser-known artists and works, Les has an impressive discography on Dutton Classics, including many debut recordings of piano rarities. A recognized international expert in lyric diction, for many years he was the editor of the Diction column for the NATS Journal of Singing, and taught the Lyric Diction courses at Laurier Music.

Kendra Dyck

Kendra Dyck, soprano, graduated from Kimberly Barber’s studio in 2015, and performed the role of Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Laurier under her supervision. She was a winner of Laurier’s Concerto Competition and made an early impression as a refined classical soloist. Kendra is equally adept as both a classical and music theatre performer, and was a recent finalist in the prestigious International Lotte Lenya Competition.

Leslie Fagan

Leslie Fagan, soprano has been on faculty at Laurier since 2009, joining the full-time ranks in 2017. An accomplished international artist, she has sung at Carnegie Hall no less than 16 times! She has collaborated with Kimberly on numerous occasions, most recently on the program “Songs Maureen Sang” (where they performed duets written for Maureen Forrester and Lois Marshall—who was Leslie’s primary teacher).

Adrean Farrugia

Adrean Farrugia recently joined the faculty at Laurier’s Faculty of Music, where he teaches contemporary piano and directs the Jazz Orchestra. A multiple award-winning pianist and composer, Adrean is a first call pianist nationwide, having performed with a who's who of Canadian and international jazz. He's performed from Paris to Tokyo, and New York City to Tel-Aviv, bringing his uniquely lyrical piano stylings to more than 50 recordings to date, garnering 9 Juno award nominations and 2 Juno Awards.

Elvera Froese

Elvera Froese was Accompanist in Residence at Laurier’s Faculty of Music for many years, also coaching students in the Opera program, conducting choirs (Chapel Choir, Maureen Forrester Singers) and teaching numerous courses. She was Kimberly Barber’s studio coach-accompanist from 2002-2017, and patiently guided and mentored this young instructor as she adjusted to Life at Laurier.

Lucy Gill

Lucy Gill hails from Squamish, BC and has been in Kimberly Barber’s studio since 2022. She is a recipient of the prestigious Laurier Scholars Award, and will graduate with a specialty in musicology this coming April. Adept in both classical and CCM genres, she won 2nd place in both categories at the recent NATS Vocal Showcase held at Laurier in November 2025. Lucy will sing the role of Matron Pearl in Opera Laurier’s production of The Llandovery Castle this coming February, as well as performing as vocal soloist with Laurier’s Jazz Orchestra in Kenny Wheeler’s Sweet Time Suite under the direction of Adrean Farrugia in March 2026.

Jerzy Kaplanek

Jerzy Kaplanek is a founding member of the Penderecki String Quartet and has taught violin and chamber music at Laurier for more than 30 years. Jerzy has performed with the PSQ throughout Canada, Europe, Asia and North and South America. He has released over 2 dozen CDs (Marquis, Eclectra, CBC, CMC, EMI labels), including an acclaimed recording of the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók with the PSQ and Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire with the Blue Rider Ensemble. His chamber music partners have included pianists Janina Fialkowska, Jamie Parker, Stéphan Sylvestre, cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, clarinetist James Campbell and others. Jerzy is also a highly accomplished jazz violinist and outstanding improviser who has collaborated with Kimberly on multiple occasions in both classical and jazz repertoire.

Jessica Lalonde

Jessica Lalonde, in a beautifully full-circle moment, was not only in Kimberly Barber’s first student cohort (2002-2007), graduating with both her BMus in Performance and Opera Diplomas, but is also a current student in the MMus C3 program which Kimberly co-designed. Recently listed by Jazz FM91 as one of "8 Canadian Women in Jazz You Need to Know", Jessica is making a name for herself as a compelling and eclectic Canadian artist. Her unique and powerful vocal sound blends a wide range of musical influences, transcending genres. Since her early days as a young singer, she's enjoyed lending her voice to a diverse array of projects ranging from operatic roles in Vancouver and Italy, to Indie-Rock backing vocals, to New Music, to major jazz festivals across Canada.

Elizabeth Lepock

Elizabeth Lepock was in Kimberly Barber’s studio from 2005-2009, and later graduated with an MMus and DMA from Western University. An active private voice studio instructor, Elizabeth was the winner of the Joan Frey Boytim Award for Independent Voice Teachers in 2022. Elizabeth teaches Vocal Literature, Pedagogy and Integrated Wellness and Vocal Foundations at Laurier (all courses that were originally co-conceived by Kimberly!). She performs in concert, opera and recital and is interested in pursuing use of art song recitals as a vehicle for composer-like self-expression for the performer both in terms of creativity, and in terms of speaking to important topics such as mental health and feminism.

Anna Ronai

Anna Ronai was raised and trained in Vienna, joined Laurier’s Faculty of Music as a collaborative pianist in 2009. She has performed concerts internationally, collaborating with myriad world-class musicians in a wide-ranging repertoire from the baroque and renaissance to the present day, and has served as a pedagogue, coach and clinician at international training programs, conservatories and universities world-wide. She has been vocal coach and accompanist in Kimberly Barber’s voice studio since 2018, and they have collaborated on numerous programs over the years at Laurier, in Ottawa, Vienna and elsewhere.

Sarah Stapleton

Sarah Stapleton was a student in Kimberly Barber’s studio from 2017-2021. An accomplished musician in multiple styles and genres, Sarah has composed, arranged and recorded her own music, while also pursuing multiple paths as teacher (Masters of Education from OISE), counsellor (Masters of Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University) and academic (current PhD candidate in Laurier’s Community Music program). Sarah and Kimberly have collaborated frequently as researchers and conference presenters and have published articles together on the topic of Community Pedagogy in the Voice Studio.

Peter Tiefenbach

Peter Tiefenbach wears multiple hats as vocal coach, composer, arranger, and broadcaster. Peter and Kimberly have collaborated countless times over the last 25 years, including several programs at Laurier. He has been on faculty at the Glenn Gould School for nearly 30 years, as music director of the school's chamber opera, and coaching singers such as Isabel Bayrakdarian, Ambur Braid, Peter Barrett, and Mireille Asselin. He has recorded and performed internationally, and was a beloved CBC host for many years. He was a founding member of L’accordéoniste with Kimberly Barber and Mary-Lou Vetere, and they performed widely across Ontario between 2009-2012.

Mary-Lou Vetere

Mary-Lou Vetere is a multi-instrumentalist, musicologist and soprano of note. She has performed internationally in concert and opera, and has been playing the accordion since the tender age of 5, winning multiple competitions and awards. She has taught History of Opera at Laurier on several occasions, as well as performing in the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall with Kimberly Barber and Peter Tiefenbach with L’accordéoniste. An accomplished interpreter of the Italian operatic repertoire, her recent turn in the title role of Puccini’s Tosca with Southern Ontario Lyric Opera won her rave reviews.

Stephanie Yelovich

Stephanie Yelovich was a student in Kimberly Barber’s studio from 2007-2012, earning both her BMus in Performance and Opera Diploma at Laurier. Originally trained as a soprano, Stephanie has since moved into mezzo-soprano territory and will perform her first Amneris in Verdi’s Aida with Southern Ontario Lyric Opera later this month. Stephanie is also a certified Reiki Master.