Renée Huynh Barabash is determined to bring beautiful music to everyone, starting with the music lovers in her own city.

As founder and director of The Living Room Project, the Laurier Music grad hosts concerts in private residences in Burlington, Ontario. She began these intimate performances as a way to ease her feelings of isolation after moving to Burlington without knowing anyone. In a private home, the atmosphere is relaxed and allows for interaction between the performer and guests, something Renee loves about the experience. The project proves listeners don’t have to go to a concert hall in Toronto to enjoy great classical music.

“House concerts have opened so many doors: giving me and my colleagues a new performance space and appreciative audience, introducing me to new friends in Burlington that I would not have met in any other way and connecting us with organizations within the community that truly make this city feel like home,” she says.

At Laurier, Renée regularly attended concerts through the KWCMS Music Room. It was her experience at a house concert hosted by this group that became the catalyst that sparked her own interest in home performances. “The atmosphere was electric and intimate, the musicians who performed there were always inspiring and had exciting performing careers. The audience was so engaged in that cozy space. I quickly became hooked,” she says.

Between performing concerts in private homes, Renée manages to run a small teaching business out of her private Burlington studio. Both of these components of her career allow her to connect with people through music – the thing she loves most about her field. “I feel privileged to be such a regular part of my students’ lives,” she says.

Renée’s love of teaching comes from the positive experiences she had in the one-on-one instruction she received at Laurier. “My private instructors – Heather Taves, Anya Alexeev and Cynthia Hiebert – not only gave me their undivided attention each week, they shared their years of experience as musicians and teachers and I always felt that I could ask questions freely,” she says.

“Those four years of lessons offered me so much practical wisdom.”