Music at Noon: Kimberly Barber and Friends: Program Notes

Jan. 21, 2026

Kimberly Barber and Friends represents a mosaic of my performing and teaching career, with a particular focus on the past almost-24 years (I began my journey here in July of 2002) of music-making at Laurier specifically. Although I was trained as a soloist, and certainly performed and recorded widely in that capacity, it was in collaborating with other musicians that was always my “happy place”. This program honours that history.

Ständchen

The Schubert arrangement of Ständchen we perform today was a work I performed at Laurier on several occasions. There are two arrangements of this opus, one with TTBB choir, and one with SSAA choir. Since my studio in this final year of my teaching is all treble voices (mostly sopranos and one mezzo!), I elected to perform with that entire group of singers, alongside several of our studio alumni (and one “honorary” studio member, Delaney Dam). The lovely full-circle moments come from us being conducted by Elvera Froese, who conducted me in this work together with the Maureen Forrester Singers on more than one occasion, and accompanied by Leslie De’Ath, who accompanied the late, great Maureen Forrester herself in this arrangement at the inaugural concert in this very recital hall in 1988.

Afton Water

Over the years at Laurier, I attempted to keep the spirit and legacy of Maureen Forrester alive in both repertoire and name. In one such concert, “Songs Maureen Sang”, I was joined by my long-time colleague and friend, soprano Leslie Fagan, for a suite of duets arranged by Canadian composer Robert Fleming. Leslie joins me again today for one of these, an arrangement of the iconic Scottish poet Robert Burns’ Afton Water. These duets were arranged by Fleming for soprano Lois Marshall and Maureen, who performed countless concerts together. In a fitting coincidence, Leslie was a student of Lois Marshall, and I knew (I went to high school with her son Daniel and daughter Gina) and performed with Maureen on numerous occasions in both concert and opera.

Die Schwestern

Brahms’ Die Schwestern is a duet I have featured on many programs, but perhaps most memorably at Laurier in a concert I presented with my friend, colleague and mentor, Frederica von Stade (known affectionately as “Flicka”), when she came for a residency at Laurier in the fall of 2003. That program “The Life of a Mezzo is Ever So Hard” featured a number of the songs on today’s program, and is an event that probably many people in today’s audience will remember indelibly. I am joined today by my former student and present colleague, Elizabeth Lepock in this delightful romp about two sisters who share absolutely EVERYTHING in life…until they come up against an insurmountable challenge: falling in love with the same man.

Je cherche un millionnaire

Je cherche un millionnaire was a song I was first introduced to by Flicka on our aforementioned 2003 program (which we repeated at New York’s Merkin Hall for New York Festival of Song in 2005). It was originally written for the celebrated French cabaret singer Mistinguette (who was, to be fair, better known for her legs than her voice) by Nacio Herb Brown, who would have been a household name in the 1950’s as the composer of the score for Singin’ in the Rain (!). This tune was one of the signature songs of our trio L’accordéoniste, which Peter, Mary-Lou and I formed in 2009, performing often with other Laurier colleagues, particularly percussionist Carol Bauman.

Chip's Lament

Xander Bechard was my student from 2018-2022, and has been in numerous Opera Laurier productions since graduation. Their rendition of Chip’s Lament won the NATS Vocal Showcase in the Music Theatre category in 2019 (I think?) and when you hear it today, you’ll see why.

Make Someone Happy

I am so delighted to have soprano and jazz vocalist extraordinaire Jessica Lalonde and her beloved Adrean Farrugia joining us today. Arguably, this is the most touching full-circle moment in the program, because Jessica was in my very first full cohort of students, beginning in fall of 2002, and she returned to Laurier this past fall for my FINAL cohort of students in our recently-launched Master of Music in Collaboration, Curation and Creative Performance (MMus C3) program, which I co-designed and teach in. Now an accomplished artist and voice teacher in her own right, Jessica’s rendition of Make Someone Happy has pride of place in this program.

Sestetto buffo

Peter Tiefenbach, who was my vocal coach and collaborative partner for close to 20 years, arranged this little ditty (Sestetto buffo), a riff on Rossini’s infamous Cat Duet, for Maureen Forrester’s Memorial Celebration at Stratford Summer Music in July 2011. Sung as a kind of duelling mezzos thing, it featured mezzo colleagues Jean Stilwell, Catherine Robbin, Krisztina Szabò, Allyson McHardy and me singing snippets of our signature arias, while comedic genius (and long-time collaborator of PT) Mary-Lou Fallis crooned (meowed?) over top. Say no more. I’ve assembled a group of current and former students to aid and abet me in this questionable endeavour, accompanied by the composer himself.

Barcarolle

Offenbach’s Barcarolle from his Tales of Hoffmann is one of the most well-known operatic duets. I performed the role of Nicklausse many times, both at the Canadian Opera Company and at Frankfurt Opera, where I was on contract for 5 years in the late 80’s and early 90’s. This duet was another feature of my concert with Flicka in 2003, and today I perform it alongside Mary-Lou Vetere, with whom I am singing for the first time on this occasion! Although she played in many a concert for me on accordion, she is a highly accomplished singer in her own right, and it’s a delight to share this gem with her and my BFF, Anna Ronai.

La vie en rose

La vie en rose was made famous by “the little sparrow”, Edith Piaf, and was a feature song on our CD L’accordéoniste, recorded here on this very stage. We frequently performed it in concert, including on a Music at Noon way back in 2010.

Anytime

I first heard the song “Anytime” in a performance of William Finn’s Elegies in Toronto last spring, featuring a former student. The brilliant mezzo MacKenzie Sechi, who is completing graduate studies at McGill University, was originally slated to sing in the Sestetto, but University commitments meant she couldn’t be with us today. In any case, MacKenzie’s performance of this tune completely ripped my heart out, and I knew I had to sing it. Although the character in the original story has actually left this mortal plane, I think of this song as emblematic of my work as a teacher. I’ve often said to students (and in fact, to MacKenzie herself) that I will always be there for them whenever they need me. As long as folks want to see me as their teacher, their mentor, I am there.

We'll meet again

The final number on the program, We’ll meet again, was made famous by the English singer Vera Lynn, who was probably best known for entertaining the Allied troops on the front in WWII. This song came back to my attention during the pandemic, when it was featured in a tearjerker of an ad for Heineken beer of all things! It inspired me to corral a bunch of my colleagues (some of whom appear with me on the stage today) and perform this song for a livestreamed concert (when live audiences were not yet allowed back into this hall). I had picked up the ukulele as a pandemic project, and I’m about as bad at it as I was then. But this song is about caring, community and hope, and I hope you’ll all sing along.