Deirdre Kellerman

Executive Artistic Director and Tone Cluster Conductor

Deirdre Kellerman (she/her) is a choral conductor and music educator based on unceded Algonquin territory (Ottawa, ON), where she is the Executive Artistic Director of Tone Cluster – a queer choral organization. She is passionate about providing accessible, gender-affirming vocal education, and her work is grounded in the belief that artistic excellence and inclusive community building are deeply connected.

Since settling in Ottawa in 2015, Deirdre has become a regular fixture in the region’s choral community as a workshop facilitator, educator, and guest conductor. She regularly prepares choirs for the Ottawa Pops Orchestra and has held positions as Artistic Director of Hypatia’s Voice, conductor and pianist with the Ottawa Children’s Choir, Assistant Director of the Ottawa Choral Society, and Director of Music at First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa.

An educator at heart, Deirdre runs DKmusic, where she specializes in vocal style exploration for choral singers, as well as gender-affirming voice care. She is dedicated to providing singers with evidence- informed tools and practical knowledge to develop their authentic voices. 

Deirdre has studied across North America, including a residency at the Banff Centre’s Choral Art program. She was nominated for the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting in 2018 and 2023. An avid chorister, she has sung with a wide variety of ensembles, including Xara Choral Theatre and the National Youth Choir of Canada.

Deirdre holds a Master of Music in Conducting from the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Acadia University.

www.dkmusic.org | @dkmusic.ottawa

Bee Lafond

Operations Manager

Bee Lafond (they/them) is a queer, non-binary event producer, production manager, composer, and voice actor based on the unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory (Ottawa, ON). They are passionate about creating spaces where people feel seen, valued, and connected, with a particular focus on queer community and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

For more than a decade, Bee has worked in the performing arts industry with professional theatre companies across Canada as a producer, production manager, technical director, and theatre technician. They have also worked extensively as a composer, sound designer, and musical director for film and theatre. Whether working behind the scenes or alongside performers, Bee loves helping artists and creative teams turn ambitious ideas into memorable experiences.

Beyond the stage, Bee has built a successful online community on Twitch centred on gaming, creative expression, charity fundraising, and building queer community. Through live streaming, they have brought together thousands of people from around the world while fostering an environment rooted in kindness, authenticity, and belonging.

Bee studied music at Carleton University, Technical Production for Theatre and Live Events at Sheridan College, and Business at Algonquin College, where they were Valedictorian. They are bilingual in French and English and continue to pursue opportunities that combine queer advocacy with music, community building, and the performing arts.

Émilie Versailles

Queer cadence conductor

Émilie Versailles (they/them) is a queer and non-binary choral conductor and singer based in Montréal/Tiohtià/Mooniyang. They have been conducting choirs since 2014 and completed a Graduate Certificate in Choral Conducting at McGill University with Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée. They are currently entering the second year of a Master’s degree in Voice and Opera at McGill University.

Émilie is the conductor of Queer Cadence and also serves as Artistic Director of La Chorale des Intrépides in Montréal. Passionate about creating joyful and affirming musical spaces, they believe in the power of choral singing to foster connection, celebrate queer stories, and welcome singers of all genders, identities, and musical backgrounds. Their work centres on accessibility, community building, and amplifying queer voices through music.

Alongside their conducting, Émilie researches inclusive and gender-affirming choral practices and has presented this work at national and international conferences. They are excited to continue building Queer Cadence as a vibrant and welcoming musical community in Ottawa.

@emilieversailles

Kim Farris-Manning

collaborative Pianist – Tone cluster

Kim Farris-Manning (they/them) is a fun-loving queer arbor-artist: composer-performer (UVic ’18), emerging curator (Carleton ’27), nature educator, and arborist/forest technician (La Cité ’23). Kim’s artistic and arboricultural practices are deeply connected, feeding and nourishing each other. They are currently developing an exhibit celebrating forests as part of their MA in Music and Culture and Grad. Diploma in Curation at Carleton University. They are the founder/Artistic Director of Queer Youth Choir, and collaborative pianist for Tone Cluster. Named one of “Six Emerging Canadian Composers to Keep an Eye On” (Ludwig van Toronto, 2022), their work has been experienced across Canada, the USA, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Kim is part of folk-indie duos YELLOW and Spring Peepers, and is a founding member of the Paramorph Collective, who launched their debut album on Redshift Records in 2023. 

@kin_of_chlorophyll | @kim.farrismanning

Sabrina Tang

collaborative Pianist – Queer Cadence

Sabrina Tang (she/her) is a collaborative pianist, music director, and music teacher in the Ottawa area. She received her Diploma in Piano Performance from Trinity College London in 2007. An active musician in the community, she works with a variety of musical theatre companies as both a pianist and music director, and currently performs as a pianist for Oh Canada Eh? Dinner Theatre. She is also an accompanist for the Ottawa Children’s Choir and serves as the musical director at Gloucester Presbyterian Church.

Sabrina is a co-founder of the Music in Greenboro concert series, which showcases local musicians and provides accessible, high-quality music for residents in the South Keys and Greenboro area.