Noted for the richness of her voice and “clear, focused sound,” mezzo-soprano Kira McGirr is a dynamic and versatile vocalist, equally at home as a soloist and collaborator. Her repertoire spans from the Baroque to contemporary cutting-edge compositions, from oratorio to art song and chamber works.
photo credit: Jennifer Manna
Following return solo performances in 2025/24 with Lima Symphony Orchestra, and Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra, highlights for the 2025/26 season will include reengagements with Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra, her solo debuts with the Lexington Bach Festival (Bach’s Magnificat) and with Heights Chamber Orchestra (Raspberry Island Dreaming by Libby Larsen), solo vocal performances of the music of Margaret Brouwer and return solo engagements with Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra. She premiered Mickey McGroarty’s Stray Birds with Choral Arts Cleveland in March 2025, and also performed Elgar’s Sea Pictures as part of the 2024/25 Music & Arts Series at Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland.
She joined Apollo’s Singers with Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra in their 2023/24 season, and returns for the 2025/26 season. She appeared with Les Délices and Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble for their September 2023 collaboration. Ms. McGirr is a frequent collaborator with Local4Music and regularly appears on their series featuring the works of living female and female-identifying composers.
Ms. McGirr has been featured as alto soloist in Elgar’s Seas Pictures; Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass; Handel’s Messiah; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mass in C Major, Op. 86; Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, Hymn to St. Cecilia and Rejoice in the Lamb; Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes; and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms; JS Bach’s BWV 166; Corigliano’s Fern Hill, and C. Lambert’s The Rio Grande, among many other works. She is routinely requested to join regional orchestras and choirs for special choral performances.
She is a frequent soloist and member of Cleveland Chamber Choir. She is a soloist and section leader with Trinity Cathedral Choir at Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland; and Schola Cantorum Lorain, and substitute section leader and cantor for numerous other Cleveland-area churches and synagogues. She regularly appears as part of Trinity Cathedral’s BrownBag Concert Series. Additional operatic experience includes Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), and Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore), as well as a variety of opera choruses.
Ms. McGirr is the Executive Director of the Cleveland Chamber Choir. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Oberlin College & Conservatory of Music.