Biography
Kathleen Kaun is the Lynette S. Autrey Professor Emerita of Voice at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. She is one of today's leading teachers of the art of classical singing. Her schooling in classical technique is informed by extensive professional experience in the real world of performance. After an operatic career in Austria and Germany spanning 13 years and 30 major roles, she joined the music faculty of Northwestern University in 1983. She taught at the New England Conservatory and was the Chair of Voice and Opera at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Ms. Kaun was the principal voice coach for the Apprentice Artist Program of the Sante Fe Opera during the seasons spanning 1990-1996.
Students who have passed through Ms. Kaun's studio are now singing in almost every major apprentice program in America, and many have gone on to sing professionally, both in America and Europe. She is frequently called upon to adjudicate competitions, including Metropolitan Opera Auditions. In her own words: "I try, with my teaching, to give the student a healthy technique, solid skills and sophisticated knowledge of phrasing and structure to allow the beauty of each instrument to shine, and most of all, to serve the music."