Canadian opera singer Kendra Dyck has been described as “possessing a pleasant sweet-toned soprano” [OperaRamblings 2017]. She recently was a 2023 semi-finalist in The Lotte Lenya Competition and a finalist in The Canadian Music Competition’s Stepping Stone 2019.
An avid lover of sacred and contemporary music, Ms. Dyck sang Mozart’s Requiem with Pax Christi Chorale and The Toronto Mozart Players, conducted by David Bowser, as a prize winner in the 2019 Toronto Mozart Vocal Competition. She made her Koerner Hall debut in November 2017 with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in the world premiere of Michael Oesterle’s symphonic work Home, conducted by Tania Miller, and also made her debut with the Toronto Classical Singers and Talisker Players that same year, returning for the following two seasons. Other recent performances have included Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in C Major and Mass in G Major, Schütz’ Musikalische Exequien, and the world premiere of Canadian contemporary composer Bekah Simm’s Bestiary I & II for soprano, ensemble and electronics as part of the annual 21C Music Festival in Toronto, ON. In addition to solo work, Ms. Dyck was a Sidgwick Scholar with The Toronto Orpheus Choir in their 2018-2019 season under the direction of Robert Cooper, and was a member of the Nota Bene Baroque Players and Singers Ensemble for five seasons.
Praised as a “natural comedienne” [Opera Canada 2017], Ms. Dyck has in the past gravitated towards light-hearted characters, though she is always thrilled when opportunity presents more complex roles. An alumnus of the NUOVA Summer Festival and Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, she has worked with some of the top conductors in the country, including, David Bowser, Robert Cooper, Leslie Dala, Howard Dyck, Tania Miller, Jurgen Petrenko, Ivars Taurins, Rosemary Thompson and Daniel Warren, and has performed operatic roles directed by Brian Deedrick, Anne-Marie Donovon, Marilyn Gronsdal, Joel Ivany, Brent Krysa and Marshall Pynkoski. Past roles include Ida in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Sandrina in Piccinni’s La Cecchina with The Glenn Gould School Opera Program; Kitty Hart in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Opera NUOVA; Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Mahigan in Spy Dénommé-Welch and Catherine Magowan’s Indigenous opera Giiwedin, presented with Opera Laurier.
Ms. Dyck holds a Bachelor of Music in Honours Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University and an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music.