Bernard Kwiram is rapidly gaining a reputation as an opera conductor in the Pacific Northwest.  He has been the music director and conductor of the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society since 2002 and has served as the chorusmaster and assistant music director of the Tacoma Opera since 2005.  He conducted, orchestrated, and sang the role of Somarone in the Tacoma Opera’s recent production of Beatrice and Benedict.  He has conducted a number of other Northwest organizations, including Skagit Opera (Signor Deluso, Pirates of Penzance), Bellevue Opera (La Cenerentola, Die Fledermaus) and Seattle’s Civic Light Opera (Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, Kiss Me, Kate).  He has also conducted a number of concert works including the Faure Requiem, Rheinberger’s Der Stern von Bethlehem and the Britten Ceremony of Carols.

As a performer, Mr. Kwiram has appeared in several roles with the Seattle Opera.  He has also performed with the Kitsap Opera, the Civic Light Opera, Bellevue Opera, Seattle Concert Opera, Mock’s Crest Productions and the Leavenworth Summer Theatre, among others.  Favorite roles have included Colonel Fairfax in The Yeoman of the Guard, the title role of The Student Prince and the Young Gypsy in Rachmaninov’s Aleko.  Concert appearances include The Messiah, Elijah and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music.  He can be heard as the tenor soloist on the Kirkland Choral Society’s recording of the Mozart Requiem.

Mr. Kwiram is a respected vocal instructor and coach who operates a private vocal studio in Bellevue, WA. He is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and is a Professor of Voice at Seattle Pacific University and at Northwest University.

Upcoming appearances include Orpheus in the Underworld for Tacoma Opera in November and The Mikado with the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society in July, 2008.