Kimberly Buczek – Soprano
Kimberly is an active soloist and music educator in the Cincinnati/Dayton area. Kimberly graduated from Ithaca College (New York) where she received a bachelor’s degree in voice performance. She went on to earn a master’s degree and D.M.A. at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While at CCM, Dr. Buczek performed Elettra in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Diana in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Ariadne in Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and covered Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Iphigénie in Gluck’s Iphégenie en Tauride. She made her debut with the Queen City Chamber Opera as Sieglinde in Wagners Die Walküre, Act 1. Other roles include Magda in Menotti’s The Consul and Dorabella in Così fan tutte. Dr. Buczek has trained as a studio artist with Chautauqua Opera, where she covered Giannetta in Donizetti’s Elixir of Love. At the end of her time at Chautauqua, she was the recipient of the Ed Harmon Young Artist Award. In 2010, Dr. Buczek made her debut with the Asheville Symphony, in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Dr. Buczek has taught Applied Voice at Wright State University and Wittenberg University. She currently teaches at Cincinnati State and is the Artistic Director of Cincinnati Academy of Performing Arts.
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Michael Young – Baritone
Michael Young is a native of Cortland, Ohio and a graduate of The University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). He is a former First Prize winner of the Palm Beach Opera International Vocal Competition, The CCM Undergraduate Vocal Competition, and a two time winner of the Corbett Vocal Competition.
Mr. Young is on faculty as a Voice Instructor at Walnut Hills High School, Cincinnati Academy of Performing Arts, and Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble Institute of Music. He is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Ohio Music Education Association. He is a member of the Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble, The Knox Presbyterian Choir, the Bach Ensemble at St. Thomas, and the Cincinnati Opera Chorus. Michael also maintains a steady performance schedule, which has included such operatic engagements as Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca, Opera Western Reserve, Marcello in Puccini’s La Boheme, Opera Western Reserve, Alberich in Wagner’s Siegfried, Queen City Chamber Opera Belcore in Donizetti’sL’elisir d’amore, and various supporting roles at Cincinnati Opera and Dayton Opera. In the fall, Michael will make his west coast debut as Alberich in Wagner’s Siegfried at San Francisco’s Valhalla Productions. Recent concert repertoire includes the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and bass/baritone soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. |
Xan Waddell Jeffery – Soprano
Xan Waddell Jeffery is a native of Nashville, TN. She earned Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees (with Honors) in Vocal Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), University of Cincinnati. Xan is Head of Voice Studies at Indian Hill Performing Arts and has a large private voice studio, with locations in Indian Hill and Anderson Township. She has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Vocal Arts Ensemble, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. She is a choir section leader/soloist at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, a member of the Cincinnati Choral Society, Music Director of McNicholas High School Theatre and regularly serves as vocal director for community theatre groups in the Greater Cincinnati area.
Xan is Past-President of the CCM Alumni Board of Governors and member of the Friends of CCM Board. She is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), the Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA) and on the Executive Board of Sigma Alpha Iota-Cincinnati Alumnae Chapter. In 2008, Xan was invited to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). She was very honored to receive two Orchid awards in 2014-2015 for Excellence in Vocal Direction for Cincinnati Music Theatre’s production of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and Footlighters’ production of LITTLE WOMEN. |
Brooke Batchelor – Soprano
Brooke Batchelor, originally from Knoxville, TN, holds both a Masters and Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Ms. Batchelor was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Northern Alabama District, and placed third in the MONC Auditions Mid-South Region that same year. Additional credits include two years with Cincinnati Opera, multiple roles during her time at CCM, a two-time semi-finalist with the Palm Beach Vocal Competition and two-time winner of the Friends of Lima Symphony Young Artist Competition. Brooke recently returned to Cincinnati and CAPA from Denver, CO. She deeply enjoys teaching voice, violin and piano students of all ages and styles. In addition to her classical training, she was raised in a bluegrass household where she and her sisters frequently performed alongside their father in his bluegrass band. She is an accomplished fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and banjo player in this genre and thoroughly enjoys using her homegrown skills. |