Baritone Roland Kessler grew up immersed in the arts, raised by professional ballroom dancers. After establishing a career in tech, he began formal vocal training at 23 when a chance encounter drew him back to the stage. In 2025, he completed his studies at Wilfrid Laurier University as a student of Kimberly Barber, concluding his time with Opera Laurier in the title role of Le nozze di Figaro.

In Summer 2025, he returned to Keystone Opera in Pennsylvania as Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Scott Crowne. Other credits include Peter in Hänsel und Gretel (Grand River Opera), Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Keystone Opera), Achilla in Giulio Cesare (Summer Opera Lyric Theatre), The Baker in Into the Woods, Friedrich Bhaer in Little Women (Opera Laurier), Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park, Immigration Officer in Flight (NUOVA Vocal Arts), and Marchese d’Obigny in La traviata with the Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony.

Roland has appeared as the bass soloist in Charpentier’s Messe de minuit pour Noël with the Milton Choristers and served as an Emerging Artist with the Grand River Chorus for the past two seasons. An upcoming recital of his explores memory and song through the lens of dementia and supports research in this field, an intersection that he is keen to explore.

Offstage, Roland enjoys motorsports, clawhammer banjo, and is active in community arts and collaborative creative work.

Biography and Headshot Last Updated On This Page: October 2025