Accompanist for Singers and Instrumentalists

Michelle Kyle is an accomplished and sensitive accompanist located near Princeton, Ontario, in the area between Kitchener-Waterloo and London. She is available to accompany instrumentalists, singers and dancers. Michelle works with professional, amateur and student musicians of all ages. She especially enjoys string-piano repertoire and German lieder. She welcomes collaboration with string and voice teachers to play for student lessons, examinations, juries, auditions, festivals, competitions and recitals. She is also an accompanist for singers preparing for art song recitals or opera and musical theatre auditions and roles, and for instrumentalists preparing for auditions and concert performances. She has more than 30 years of experience as an accompanist. She provides accompanying services within this area.

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At Brandon University, Michelle studied cello with Malcolm Tait, piano with Gordon Macpherson, and voice with Sylvia Richardson. At Wilfrid Laurier University, she studied piano with Garth Beckett, accompanying with Marjorie Beckett, and cello with Gisela Depkat. Michelle accompanied cellists at the Wychwood String Seminar in Toronto, and was the pianist in a trio that won first prize for chamber music in Ontario and placed second at the National Competitive Festival of Music in Vancouver. She accompanied singers for the Kitchener Summer School for the Performing Arts and the University of Waterloo, and accompanied dancers for Bojangles and Moree ballet schools and the University of Waterloo.

In Toronto, Michelle accompanied singers for ProVOCE Studios, Creative Artist Productions, Opera York, The Singerstudio, the Royal Conservatory of Music and Toronto Dance Theatre, and for auditions at University of Toronto, Humber College, Equity Showcase, and Canadian Stage Company. She studied Italian at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, and German at the Goethe-Institut Toronto and the University of Vienna. She audited art song master classes at the Franz Schubert Institute in Baden, Austria in 2010.

In the Toronto concert series, The Birthday Series at Heliconian Hall, Michelle accompanied professional singers and instrumentalists in nine full-length chamber concerts in 2010-11. Repertoire included art songs of Schubert, Wolf, Brahms, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Fanny Hensel, Max Reger, Joseph Marx, Alban Berg, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky, Schubert's op. 162 violin-piano sonata, Brahms' op. 120, no. 1 clarinet/viola-piano sonata, and Fanny Hensel's op. 11 piano trio. Michelle was the pianist for the Bel Canto Singers, a community choir in Scarborough (2008-11), and for Joyful Voices, a community choir in Listowel (2018-20).

Accompanying References

To whom it may concern,

Re: Michelle Kyle

I am pleased to write in enthusiastic support of Michelle Kyle in the role of collaborative pianist for singers, both young and mature. I have performed classical repertoire with Michelle in a concert of French repertoire and several young students from my voice studio performed in the Davenport Music Festival in April 2009, all with excellent musical results.

Michelle accompanies singers with the sensitivity required to work with voices of all dynamic ranges in repertoire that ranges from Classical to Musical Theatre. Her technique is superb and her playing enhances the singer's performance. Michelle's musical mind clearly communicates the composer's intentions, while always being sensitive to the needs of each singer in terms of breath management, dynamic range and musical expression. A very important benefit in working with Michelle is that she remembers the tempos that the singers practiced in rehearsal with her!

Singers are very comfortable and supported when performing and rehearsing with Michelle Kyle and I highly recommend her as a collaborative pianist.

Krystina Lewicki

To whom it may concern,

Michelle Hunchak has played for my classes many times. She is an excellent pianist and a sensitive musician. I am happy to recommend her.

Stuart Hamilton

Re: Michelle Hunchak, pianist

To whom it may concern,

I initially encountered Ms Hunchak about one year ago in my capacity as Artistic Director of Opera York. Ms Hunchak was accompanying some singers at Opera York auditions, and as we had not met previously, I was struck by her keyboard ability, sensitivity, and adaptability, and asked her to provide me with additional professional information.

Since then, I have frequently employed Ms Hunchak as my alternate pianist for the long-running 'opera cabaret' concerts which I present in the Toronto area. Neither I nor the performers involved have been disappointed. Ms Hunchak's ability to step into a performance situation and achieve a totally smooth transition, demonstrating both the necessary preparation and easy-going personality essential for this task has been unfailingly noted by all her colleagues.

Her versatile performance and professional background are definite assets in enabling her to meet new challenges and performance opportunities. I recommend her unequivocally for any position which meets her qualifications.

William Shookhoff

Dear Michelle,

Thank you so much for making yourself available to accompany the Joyce Public School Junior Choir to our concert at the seniors' home on May 6, 2009. It was stressful for me because our regular pianist was taken sick and we were faced with either cancellation or rescheduling.

You came in, sight read the music extremely well, dealt with the fact that you and I had no eye contact (in fact we were across the room from one another!), basically managing both to read my musical interpretation and have eyes in the back of your head. Well done and thank you again! I received a lovely "thank you" letter from Villa Colombo -- we made some people very happy that day.

Kind regards and I hope to have the opportunity to work with you again sometime.

Shelley Koke
Music Teacher
Joyce Public School, Toronto

Michelle Kyle - Pianist, Cellist, Ensembles

Accompanist for Singers and Instrumentalists

More biographical information

Accompanying References