Kyle Sackett, baritone, holds the M.M. in voice and opera performance from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and the B.M. in music education from SUNY Fredonia. Based in Chicago, Kyle works extensively both teaching voice and performing. He joined the voice faculty within the theatre conservatory of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in 2018 where he continues to teach music theatre voice. Prior, he taught at Carthage College (Kenosha, WI) from 2015-2018, teaching both classical and music theatre voice.
In 2018, Kyle performed a leading role in the staged workshop of Augusta Read Thomas’ new opera Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun, commissioned by Santa Fe Opera Company as part of the Opera for All Voices initiative. Additional opera credits include Lycas (Ariane et Bacchus), Owen Hart (Dead Man Walking), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Friedrich Bhaer (Little Women), Schaunard (La Boheme), The Four Villains (Les contes d’Hoffmann), and Herr Fluth (Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor), as well as ensemble work with Chicago Opera Theater, Haymarket Opera Company, and Opera Atelier.
He has performed numerous times with maestro Glen Cortese and the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, including the roles of Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte) and Mr. Kofner (The Consul), and the bass soloist for Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolia and Vivaldi’s Magnificat. During the 2015-16 season, Kyle sang the role of Papageno in Opera for the Young’s touring adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. He has been a featured baritone soloist for many concerts and oratorio, including Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, Mozart’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Faure’s Requiem.
A passionate choral singer, Kyle has performed and recorded with top-tier ensembles including the GRAMMY-winning new music ensemble The Crossing (Philadelphia), Music of the Baroque (Chicago), Grant Park Symphony Chorus (Chicago), Chicago Symphony Chorus, Bella Voce (Chicago), Vocális Chamber Choir (Buffalo), Berkshire Choral International, and is a founding member of the Chicago-based Constellation Men’s Ensemble.
As a conductor and educator, Kyle served as the assistant music director of the Hannah Hasbrouck Petersen Concert Series in Fredonia, NY, and as chorus master for the 2012 Hillman Opera production of Suor Angelica. He joined Berkshire Choral International as a staff instructor in the summer of 2017 after two previous seasons as an apprentice. He joins us as a member of the Richmond faculty this year.