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Patrick D. Buckley,
President & Vocal Administrator
Patrick Buckley has performed professionally in opera, operetta
and oratorio across the United States and Europe. He has been teaching voice privately for over 10 years and has returned
to University of Missouri-Kansas City for a degree in German language and literature. Patrick has been singing with
The Lyric Opera of Kansas City since 1998 and was again acclaimed for his performances of the role of Ko-Ko in the
Paul Mesner's Puppets and Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City's joint production of The Mikado in 2007. In the
May 2004 presentation of this production Patrick was noted as being "dramatically and vocally ideal as the comic
Ko-Ko" by Paul Horsley of the Kansas City Star. Patrick has been seen in other roles with the Civic Opera Theater
of Kansas City, including the Old Man, the Husband, The Youth and an Angel in four different productions of The Wise
Women, Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore, the 98 year old First Yeoman in The Yeomen of the Guard,
and Camille de Rosillon in The Merry Widow. Patrick has sung numerous leading and supporting roles in opera productions
with the Kansas City Metro Opera Workshop.
Patrick has also been featured nationally modeling in
print advertising as well as talent in non-broadcast training videos and national broadcast television advertising.
Theresa
Ruperd, Vice-President & Instrumental Administrator
Theresa Ruperd, a native of Kansas City, Kansas, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Sumner Academy of
Arts and Science and holds a Bachelor of Arts in flute performance and a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University
of Missouri-Kansas City. She played viola in the Junior Youth Symphony of Kansas City (two years) and in the Youth Symphony
of Kansas City (four years). As a violinist, she has performed in many orchestras, chamber ensembles and has also performed
as a soloist. Theresa has been teaching flute, piccolo, violin and viola privately for over 18 years. She is a professional
flutist and often performs at St. John the Baptist and the Cathedral of St. Peter, both in Kansas City, Kansas. Additionally, she sings with Schola Cantorum at the
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception; Fine Arts Chorale; Yachad – The Traveling Tefillah Band; Madrigalia Bar Nonne
and Carolers of Note. She has sung in the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City’s productions of The Wise Women and The Mikado and made her operatic
debut in January 2005 as Drusilla in the Kansas City Metro Opera Workshop’s production of L’incoronazione di Poppea. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, the Women’s Committee
for the Conservatory of Music and is a past board member of the UMKC Conservatory Alumni Association. She has been selected for inclusion in multiple editions of Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who of American Women
and Who's Who in America.
S. Lee Fenwick, Conducting
Liaison
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Lee Fenwick graduated
from Xavier University with a Bachelor of Science degree in music education with a minor in voice. He has held music director
positions in churches for over ten years with experience with adult and children’s vocal ensembles as well as adult
and children’s handbell choirs. Lee has sung with the opera chorus of The Lyric Opera of Kansas City since 2000, and
was an Angel in the 2001 Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City production of The Wise Women. He has sung
with other choruses in Kansas City including the Fine Arts Chorale and Musica Sacra. He was music director of Madrigalia Bar
Nonne and Carolers of Note for two years, continues to sing with both groups and was the music director of North Woods
Christian Church in Parkville, Missouri until it closed. Lee has acquired NASM and APEX Master Personal Trainer certifications
and works full-time as a personal trainer.
Lara Steinel, Director
of Marketing
Lara Steinel recently joined
the board, bringing with her nearly 25 years of experience in sales and marketing, primarily in the newspaper industry and
the arts. She was recruited by USA Today shortly after its launch and designed and implemented USA Today’s national
sales training programs. She served as Eastern Regional Sales Manager, overseeing sales and marketing in New
York City, Boston, Washington, DC
and thirteen other major markets.
She left USA Today to
join the Washington Post. Under her sales management and marketing leadership, fine arts advertising posted revenue records
every year under her tenure.
Lara was a soloist in
Kansas City Metro Opera’s 2006 production of Handel’s Messiah and also implemented the group’s
first broad-scale publicity plan in 2007. She sings professionally in several area venues including Colonial
Church (Congregational) in Prairie Village
where she is a soloist and section leader; the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where she sings in the 12-voice professional
chamber choir, Schola Cantorum; and at Congregation Kol Ami in Prairie Village
where she is both a soloist and choir member. Lara is also an experienced choral conductor and musical theater performer and
studies voice with Patrick Buckley.
Edgar
Palacios, Administrative Intern
Originally
from Miami Beach, Florida, Edgar will graduate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a Bachelor’s Degree
in Music, emphasis on Vocal Performance in May 2008. He has performed with the top undergraduate choral ensemble at UMKC for
the last three years and was most recently seen as Signor Gaudenzio in Heartland Bel Canto’s production of Rossini’s
Il Signor Bruschino. Edgar first performed with Kansas City Metro Opera in the 2005 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s
Iolanthe as Private Willis. He has also appeared in other Kansas City Metro Opera’s productions as Sir Marmaduke
in The Sorcerer, a soloist in Handel’s Messiah, and as the Judge in Trial by Jury. Edgar’s
chorus roles include UMKC’s 2007 production of Pirates of Penzance and the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City’s
2007 production of The Mikado. Edgar was the Director of Music Ministries at Trinity United Methodist Church in 2006
and plans to receive his Master’s in Arts Administration in the near future.

Kansas City Metro Opera
Building a Future for Opera
Kansas City Metro Opera is a non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Corporation
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