Contact Kirsten at kirsten@wilmingtonconcertopera.com

Among her favorite roles are Agathe in Der Freischütz, the title role in Suor Angelica, Magda and the Foreign Woman in The Consul,” Mimì in La bohème, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Iolanta and Brigitta in Iolanta, Zemfira in Aleko, Lisa in Pique Dame,  Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief, and the Witch in Hansel and Gretel. With the Philadelphia Opera Collective, she has created leading roles in numerous world premieres, including Edith Standen in Shadow House, Annie Jump Cannon in Jump the Moon, Edgar Allan Poe in Opera Macabre: Edgar Allan Poe, and Dr. Frankenstein in By You That Made Me, Frankenstein.  In 2016, she made her professional straight play debut in Machinal with EgoPo Classic Theater and her professional musical theatre debut as Domina in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with the Scranton Shakespeare Festival. She has an Honorable Mention for The American Prize in Voice – Professional Art Song and Oratorio Division (Women), as well as being a two-time semi-finalist for The American Prize in Opera (Women). She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2014, as well as being the Pennsylvania District National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award winner that year. She won second place in the Roschel Vocal Competition in 2015. She attended Bowling Green State University and the University of Salzburg for her undergraduate studies, majoring in voice performance with minors in Italian and German. Her graduate degrees are in voice performance from the University of Michigan. A voting member of the Muscogee Nation, Dr. Kunkle commissioned and premiered sixteen original compositions, including one of her own, based upon the poetry of her ancestor and highly-acclaimed poet of the Native American Muscogee Nation, Alex Posey. She has recorded extensively through the Comic Opera Guild, specializing in the works of Victor Herbert. Her recordings are collected at the Library of Congress, the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution, and the Merkel Area Museum in Merkel, Texas. Dr. Kunkle is included on the list of Classical Native American Artists and Musicians at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and on the Molto Native Music list of performers.  She has been published in peer-reviewed journals and is a successful voice educator. Most recently, she had her solo European debut with the Sofia Philharmonic in the role of Arabella in Johann Strauss II’s Blindekuh. She is also a NAXOS recording artist for Blindekuh, which was released in March of 2020 to extraordinary reviews. Dr. Kunkle’s years in the field as a vocal pedagogue, director, and performer have given her an extensive knowledge of the operatic repertoire and ability to assign repertoire and cast roles to best utilize the vast talent pool that exists in the classical singer community. 

She holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Cincinnati’s James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, and has always been a musician and performer, making her professional dance debut at the age of 10 with the Liz Lermon Dance Exchange. While earning her Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Chemistry from Oberlin College, Dr. Robinson studied voice and music theory at the Oberlin Conservatory, including a summer in Italy with the voice department’s Oberlin in Italy program, still managing to complete her degree in three years. Dr. Robinson has extensive board and nonprofit volunteer experience, ranging from a term as Guildmistress (board chair) of the Ardensingers, to serving on the board of the Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation, to co-chairing the Creatives Committee of the MillSummit and serving on the MillSummit planning committee, to the DoMore24DE planning committee, and her contributions have earned her a 2021 Impact Award.