Kevin Komisaruk has twenty years of experience as a conductor of both concert and liturgical choral ensembles, and prior to moving to Toronto served as choral curriculum director for the English acting programme of the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. Pursuing a strong interest in plainchant and Renaissance polyphony which developed as Director of Music of two Anglo-Catholic churches (St John the Evangelist, Montreal and St Mary Magdalene, Toronto), he founded two vocal concert ensembles in Toronto, the first of which was Studio Sixteen, a 16-voice mixed choir based at St Paul’s Basilica and later the Church of St Mary Magdalene. In addition to performing several seasons of four concerts, Studio Sixteen performed twice at Roy Thomson Hall, and for the concert series of both Georgian Music (Barrie, ON) and London Early Opera (London, ON). The second ensemble, Alawyn, was a five-voice male ensemble based at the George Ignatieff Theatre (University of Toronto) dedicated to performing arrangements of motets and spiritual madrigals, as well as performing contemporary works by young composers.
Komisaruk also maintains an interest in community-based choral direction; for several years he conducted the Deutscher Chor Montreal, a mixed 30-voice folkloric ensemble, and has led several educational workshops for the Canadian Amateur Musicians Association (CAMMAC) in Toronto.
As a choral singer, he performed and toured for several seasons as a bass with the Chamber Choir of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Iwan Edwards, Charles Dutoit, Helmuth Rilling, Roger Norrington, and Michel Corboz.