During her undergraduate years, Kiera served as a resident advisor and moved into the role of resident director during graduate school. It was in these positions that she learned leadership, teamwork and interpersonal skills. "I learned how to manage stress and handle crises. I cannot stress how invaluable those lessons were, for they influence me every day, not only in my role as a collaborative musician, but also in my day-to-day life," Kiera said.
Why Kiera chose Rider’s Westminster Choir College
Kiera chose Westminster Choir College of Rider University because she knew that she would be getting a world-class music education. She relished the fact that the voice faculty was exceptional. "I can't really explain the feeling I had on my first visit to Westminster other than to say I had an acute sense that this school was unlike any other," says Kiera.
The faculty recognized a spark in me, a hunger to learn, a willingness to work and they nurtured that.
Internationally Acclaimed Soprano
Westminster's impact on Kiera’s career
"I give much credit for my success to the entire faculty at Westminster, particularly my private voice teacher there, Laura Brooks Rice, and the music director at the time, Joseph Flummerfelt. My voice was certainly not the best voice of the incoming class, but they recognized a spark in me, a hunger to learn, a willingness to work and they nurtured that," Kiera noted. "I don't think I'm overstating things when I say I would not be where I am without them; it is entirely possible that in a different conservatory environment I would have been pushed aside."
Continued success
Kiera was a Grand Finalist in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, which is chronicled in Emmy award-winning director Susan Froemke's documentary, The Audition. She has appeared with many of the world's great orchestras including The New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, as well as the San Francisco, Atlanta, São Paulo, and London Symphony Orchestras. She makes both her Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago debuts this spring. She is featured on a number of recordings and DVDs, including Strauss Lieder with acclaimed pianist, Roger Vignoles for Hyperion Records; Carmina Burana with Kristjan Järvi for Sony Records; and Mahler's 8th Symphony with Gustavo Dudamel for Deutsche Grammophon.