Shirley Sproule, soprano, was born in Canada and trained and sang there until first studying opera and Lieder with Lehmann at the MAW in 1953. She continued there with Lehmann, working in the winters as well as the regular summer sessions and after 1956 sang in Europe (Munich, Mainz, etc.). She sang in Lehmann’s London Masterclasses in 1957.

In 1965 Dr. Sproule returned to Regina, Saskatchewan to teach voice and sing there. In 1970 she began her doctoral studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson, breaking her work there to cover sabaticals and sing in Canada in 1971-72. After she returned and finished her doctoral degree in Tucson, she stayed there, teaching until her retirement.