Kimberly Gelbwasser Lazzeri, soprano, is Music Program Head and Associate Professor of Voice at Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts (NKU SOTA).
Dr. Lazzeri’s passion lies in performing art song. Of her singing, American composer Jake Heggie wrote, “In addition to a wonderful humanity, beautiful voice, and depth of feeling, Kimberly also brought joy: the joy I feel is essential to singing—and sometimes missing! She loves to sing and she loves to sing songs.” Dr. Lazzeri also regularly pursues her love for theatre. Locally, she has appeared with The Commonwealth Theatre Company and the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts. Nationally, she has appeared with Sierra Repertory Theatre, Pear Avenue Theatre, and Bus Barn Stage Company. Dr. Lazzeri’s operatic roles include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Despina in Così fan tutte. Her concert repertoire includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Brahms'sEin deutsches Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Psalm 42, Mozart’s Requiem, Respighi's Laud to the Nativity, and Vivaldi's Gloria.
Additionally, Dr. Lazzeri enjoys an active performance career in chamber music. She is pleased to be a member of the Zia Trio (soprano, clarinet, and piano), whose repertoire includes Gordon’s Orpheus & Euridice, Rorem’s Ariel, and Spohr’s Sechs deutsche Lieder, which the trio was invited to perform at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest. As part of other chamber-music collaborations, Dr. Lazzeri has been invited to perform at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.
Dr. Lazzeri’s research has focused on the following topics: The Musical Portrayal of "Lust for Life and Adversity" in Selected Songs by Leonard Bernstein and "To Be an American": How Irving Berlin Assimilated Jewishness and Blackness in his Early Songs. She is currently a cantorial soloist at the Isaac M. Wise Temple, which holds services at the historic Plum Street Temple in downtown Cincinnati. Dr. Lazzeri looks forward to recording her first album this fall, of classically arranged Yiddish folksongs.
Dr. Lazzeri is a former president of the Kentucky Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has twice served as music faculty at the Kentucky Institute for International Studies in Salzburg, Austria. Prior to arriving in Kentucky in 2014, she served as Instructor of Voice at Eastern New Mexico University and as Visiting Professor of Voice at the University of North Florida.
In 2016, Dr. Lazzeri was awarded the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in the College of Arts and Sciences at NKU. One of her favorite courses to teach at NKU is “Yoga for Creativity,” as she is a certified Kripalu yoga instructor.
Dr. Lazzeri holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Barbara Honn. Dr. Lazzeri holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University. To learn more, visit “Kimberly Gelbwasser Lazzeri Voice Studio” on Facebook.
