Kevin M. Simons 

Kevin Simons, Baritone, has been hailed as a “powerful and expressive singer” and has been featured in numerous roles in both Opera and Musical Theater.  Included among his favorite roles are Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, Krusina in The Bartered Bride, Warbucks in Annie and the title role in Gianni Schicchi.  A native of Pinckney, Michigan, he holds a degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Central Michigan University.  While at Oklahoma, he studied with Sean Daniel as well as with Gary Arvin and Marilyn Horne.  His recitals, which include standard vocal repertoire as well as pieces from Musical Theater and Operetta, have been given in prestigious venues in this country as well as abroad.  His choral conducting studies have been with Susan Boggs, Steven Curtis and Nina Nash-Robertson.  He has also studied organ with Donald Williams, Carol Muehlig and Steven Egler.

He was the founder of the acclaimed Canterbury Festival Singers in Norman, Oklahoma, where he was also Organist/Choirmaster at St. Anselm of Canterbury.  In addition, he was Director of Music and Organist at First Lutheran Church in Oklahoma City.  Choirs under his direction have sung at national and state level denominational functions.  Well-known as a builder of church choral programs, he is frequently called upon to lead workshops in choir development and literature for the beginning choir.  He regularly serves as a vocal and choral adjudicator.  Recently, he has also conducted workshops for several Michigan high school choirs.

He is active in several professional organizations, including the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Director’s Association, and the Royal School of Church Music in America.  He has also been elected to membership in the Association of Anglican Musicians and the National Association of Teachers of Singing.   He regularly attends professional conferences, and is an annual participant in the Sewanee Church Music Conference, the oldest music conference in the Episcopal Church.

Mr. Simons is currently the Director of Music and Organist at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Saginaw, Michigan where he oversees a large, multi-faceted program.  At St. John’s, he developed the “First Sundays at St. John’s” program, a series of choral services and events which features the musicians of the church as well as the Saginaw community.  Under his leadership, the repertoire of the inter-generational St. John’s Choir has grown to include major works such as Luigi Boccherini’s Gloria, and the Missa Brevis in D Major of Mozart as well as newer works such as Missa Brevis No. 4 of Eleanor Daley and regular services of Choral Evensong.  In addition to his work at St John’s, he is also an Adjunct Instructor of Voice at Saginaw Valley State University.