Lyric tenor Michael Barrette is the founder and director of Wunder Studios. He is active as a soloist and recitalist and has performed live on WFMT radio. His recent engagements include the roles of Un Araldo Reale in Verdi's Don Carlo, Liverotto in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia and Un Messaggero in Verdi's Aida with da Corneto Opera. Other roles include Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus; Cochenille in Les Contes d'Hoffman; and the Royal Messenger in The Threepenny Opera.

For the last ten years Michael has regulary performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. He has worked under the direction of Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, James Conlon, Sir Andrew Davis, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, Peter Schreier, Duain Wolfe, and others. Memorable concerts include performances of Brahms' Requiem and Schoenberg's Moses und Aron with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Berliner Staatskapelle Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Opera chorus performances include Fidelio, Tristan und Isolde, and Les Troyen with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Aida, Don Carlo, Ernani, I Lombardi, and Il Trovatore with da Corneto Opera; Candide at the Grant Park Festival; and Die Csárdásfürstin, Dido and Aeneas, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Tales of Hoffman at DePaul Opera Theater.

Michael's wide ranging performing experience also includes drama, musical theatre, and rock vocals. He earned a Master of Music in vocal performance at DePaul University where he was inducted into the honorary music society, Pi Kappa Lambda. Michael is on faculty at Triton College and teaches private voice at Wunder Studios.