Noon Hour Concerts are back with an incredible Autumn lineup of preformers. Join us every Wednesday from now until December 20th between 12:15 p.m. and 12:45 p.m.
Plus, come a little earlier and enjoy a sandwich lunch available for purchase beginning at 11:30 a.m. Admission to the building is free, and all are welcome and encouraged to come out.
Can’t join us in person? No worries! Each concert is available for viewing on our YouTube page following the live performance.
This Week:
Keiko Larocque - soprano
Ann-Marie MacDairmid - piano
About Keiko Larocque
A recent graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, Keiko Larocque is a young soprano hailing from the small northern community of Chapleau, Ontario. Having founded the Full Voice Academy in her hometown, teaching privately and directing choirs throughout her post-secondary journey has given her an opportunity to pass along the knowledge and experience she has gained through her love of learning and music.
Keiko completed her BA at Algoma University in 2019 under the tutelage of Agnes McCarthy. Wanting to further her performance experience, she then attended Wilfrid Laurier University and completed her BMus in Voice Performance with professor Jennie Such (‘22), and most recently her Opera Diploma under the instruction of both Leslie Fagan and Kimberly Barber (‘23). Her past roles include Anne Frank in Cecilia Livingston’s Singing Only Softly, Beth in Mark Adamo’s Little Women, and Ollob/Man1 in the world premiere of Borderless (Alaina Viau, Ashley Seward, and Troy DeFour). Other roles in excerpts at Laurier include Violetta (La traviata), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), and Maria (West Side Story). Keiko’s KWSO debut was alongside drag star Thorgy Thor and conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser last October (‘22). For over 12 years Keiko has provided music for Chapleau’s Sacred Heart Parish, and for the past 4 years she has served as a choral scholar for St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Kitchener. The experience of community music making is such an integral part of her experience with the artform, and connecting with others through music continues to be one of the biggest blessings in her life.
About Ann-Marie MacDairmid
Ann-Marie MacDairmid is from Thornbury (Town of the Blue Mountains). She graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours Bachelor of Music and from the University of Western Ontario with a Master of Music, in organ performance. Ann-Marie is the Director of Music at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian church in Kitchener. She is the founder, director and accompanist for Shoreline Chorus in Owen Sound, the accompanist for the Grand River Chorus in Brantford and directs the Queen Street Singers in Kitchener.
Autumn Concert Series Lineup
NOVEMBER 15
Keiko Larocque soprano
Ann-Marie MacDairmid piano
NOVEMBER 22
Autumn Debassige mezzo-soprano
Angus Sinclair piano
NOVEMBER 29
Matthew Gartshore piano
DECEMBER 6
Waterloo County Carollers
DECEMBER 13
Renaissance School of the Arts Flute Choir
Director Wendy Wagler
DECEMBER 20
Cambridge Girls' Choir
Director Jessica Strub