Medicine Hat-area opera singer receives Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award

“A lot of the work I do is outside of Alberta, so every time I come home, it’s really meaningful to me.”

The award recognizes emerging artists working across disciplines, including music, literature, theatre, and visual arts, with each recipient receiving a $10,000 cash award, a handcrafted medal and a certificate.

For Baedke, the recognition comes after years of training and performances that have taken her across Canada, the United States and Europe.

Baedke’s passion for opera began at age five on her family’s farm near Seven Persons, after discovering a VHS recording of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and reenacting scenes with Barbie dolls while singing along.

She was soon enrolled in the children’s choir program at Medicine Hat College Conservatory of Music and began private voice lessons.

“When people ask me how I became a professional opera singer, I usually compare it to becoming an NHL player in the sense that it starts with something you’re just doing as a young child, and then you gradually increase in the ranks until it’s out of control, becomes your entire life,” Baedke said.

Baedke later earned degrees from the University of Toronto and Rice University in Houston before beginning a professional career that has included performances with London’s Royal Opera & Ballet, Santa Fe Opera and Pacific Opera Victoria.

While her work now takes her around the world, she said her roots in southeastern Alberta remain an important part of her identity.

“I often wear it as a bit of a badge of honour that I came from communities like Seven Persons and Medicine Hat and still value the sense of community that these smaller communities instilled in me,” Baedke said.

That community continues to support her career by showing up in Calgary when she performed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, saying dozens of people made the trip from Medicine Hat to attend.

“Like 50 people came up from Medicine Hat to support me, which is really, really special,” Baedke said.

Baedke said receiving recognition from her home province carries a different significance than honours received within the opera community.

“It’s a different kind of special, it’s a different sort of recognition about how far I’ve gotten in my career, as well as encouragement to continue pursuing what I’m doing.”

She also credited her parents, Diana and Ernie Baedke, for helping make her career possible.

“They were the ones who drove me to every single singing lesson, every single competition,” Baedke said.

“They still fly to see me sing as much as they can and are still a huge support system for me, so there’s really no one else that rises above that.”

The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation distributed $110,000 through this year’s program.

Foundation chair Arlene Strom said the awards support artists who bring fresh perspectives to their fields and advance Alberta’s artistic community.

Baedke is scheduled to return to Alberta in 2027 to perform the role of Pamina with Edmonton Opera in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. The same opera first inspired her dream of becoming a singer.

by Jett Schwaier

Medicine Hat-area opera singer receives Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award

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