Deirdre Kellerman

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 conducts Tone Cluster – quite a queer choir. Previous conducting positions include 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. 

Since settling in Ottawa in 2015, Deirdre has become a regular fixture in the area’s choral community as a workshop facilitator and guest conductor. She regularly prepares choirs for the Ottawa Pops Orchestra.

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, Deirdre has sung with a wide variety of ensembles, including Xara Choral Theatre and the National Youth Choir of Canada, and she currently sings with Aella, an upper-voice ensemble. 

An educator at heart, Deirdre runs DKmusic where she teaches voice, piano, theory, and conducting.

Deirdre holds a M.Mus in Conducting from the New England Conservatory and B.Mus in Vocal Performance from Acadia University.

Émilie Versailles

Queer cadence conductor

Émilie Versailles (they/them) is a queer and non-binary choral conductor and singer based in Montréal/Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang. They have been conducting choirs since 2014 and completed a Graduate Certificate in Choral Conducting at McGill University with Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée. This is their 10th season with La Chorale des Intrépides as Artistic Director and also currently conducts the choir of the Montreal Botanical Garden. They are very excited to be conducting Tone Cluster’s new endeavor, the All Voices Choir Initiative.

They have participated in numerous choral events as a chorister, choir conductor, and artistic coordinator of the Festival de Chant Choral de Montréal. These past few years, they had the pleasure of vocal directing Mainline Theatre’s production of the Rocky Horror Show.

Their interest in equity and inclusivity in the arts has led them to rethink and research choral practices, and they were invited to share their findings at Podium 2022 (Toronto) and during the LGBTQ Music Study Group in Vienna also in 2022.As part of Fierté Montréal 2023, you could hear them in the cabaret Them Fatale at Théâtre Le National, as well as in Drag’Opéra on the esplanade of Olympic Park. Projects featuring the stories of non-binary and queer people are an important part of Émilie’s artistic approach. Last Fall, they had the pleasure of playing Gaël in VACARMES: le concert théâtral at the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier. This Fall, they are delighted to perform in Surveillée et Punie (Théâtre Prospéro) and Superheart l’Opéra (Nancy Tobin, Théâtre Lachapelle).

Kim Farris-Manning

Pianist

A fun-loving queer arbor-artist based in Ottawa and Montreal, Kim Farris-Manning creates works across disciplines that engage with the performer and audience in unique ways. Allowing ideas to grow and change is a central facet of Kim’s work; pieces are often made in versions, through a process of experimentation and collaboration with others. Kim’s artistic and arboricultural practices are deeply connected, feeding and nourishing each other. Named one of “Six Emerging Canadian Composers To Keep An Eye On” (Ludwig van Toronto, 2022), Kim’s work has been experienced in performances worldwide. Kim is part of folk-indie duo YELLOW, and is a founding member of the Paramorph Collective, who will be launching their debut album on Redshift Records in 2023.