Mezzo-Soprano, Kathleen Simunek, is a second year Masters student studying at the Jacobs School of Music with Dr. Paulina Villarreal. She graduated with a Bachelors degree unter the tutelage of Timothy Noble from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2024. This fall Simunek will perform as Mamma/La Tasse Chinoise/La Libellule in "L'enfant et les sortèleges" at Indiana Univerity. Next Februrary she will sing as Fanny Price in Jonathan Dove's "Mansfield Park" also at Indiana University. During the summer of 2025 Simunek participated in the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria where she performed in concert with the AIMS Festival Orchestra. In March of 2025 she was seen as Granny/Beata/Landlady in "Swimming in the Dark" at The Studios of Key West. In November 2024 she performed as part of the world premier of "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" in the role of Esther Klayman, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera. Simunek has been featured as a chorister in the Indiana University Opera Theater's production of The Merry Widow as Clo-Clo as well as their productions of L'Étoile, Candide, Eugene Onegin, Sweeney Todd, Suor Angelica (Suor Dolcina) and Carmen. She is passionate about working in a dynamic ensemble and has participated in Indiana University's Singing Hoosiers and the Fort Wayne Children's Choir for 10 years. Simunek was a competitior in the Indiana State School Music Association's Solo and Ensemble compeitions, receiving perfect scores at the state level. During summer 2023 she traveled to Vienna, Austria to take part in the IES Vienna Summer Music Program.