MEASHA BRUEGGERGOSMAN - LEE
Born on 28 June 1977 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, award winning soprano Measha Brueggergosman - Lee is a descendant of a Black Loyalist mentioned in the Book of Negroes. In 2017 she was awarded the Order of New Brunswick following upon several other recognitions. She was awarded the Grand Prize at the 2009 Jeunesses Musicales Montreal International Musical Competition and won First Prize at the International Vocal Competition's - Hertogenbosch in 2002. She performed the Olympic Hymn at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
She is the daughter of Anne Eatman and Stirling Gosman. When she married Markus Bruegger they combined their last names. They met in high school and he was a student from Germany. After her divorce in 2018, she married jazz guitarist Steve Lee in 2021.
In 2007 Brueggergosman - Lee learned she descended from a Black Loyalist while on CBC televison in a segment of Who Do You Think You Are. Her paternal 4x great grandfather John Gosman appears listed in the Book of Negroes, spelled as John Goseman. He was one of the approximately 3,000 Black Loyalists transported to Nova Scotia from New York after the American Revolution. At first they spent time in Shelburne but later moved to Fredericton.
Brueggergosman - Lee began singing as a child in the Baptist Church her father served as Deacon and studied voice and piano from age seven. After spending summers at the Boston Conservatory she obtained a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto. She then went to Germany for five years to pursue a Master's degree at the Robert Schuman Hochschule.
In 1998 she played the lead in a story of a slave girl in 19th century Nova Scotia who murdered her abusive father. It was the opera Beatrice Chancey by James Rolfe and George Elliot Clarke. In 2000, it was filmed for CBC.
She has performed nationally and internationally. In Canada she has appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Thunder Bay Orchestra. She has also performed in the United States, Germany, and other countries.
In 2007 she performed at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo singing in the "Phantom of the Opera Medley" and closing the show with "Ave Maria".
She currently resides in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia with her husband and children. During the covid pandemic she founded Planet Measha Productions which produces concerts and videos. She serves as artist - in - residence at Opera Atelier in Toronto. As well she continues to work nationally and internationally.
Further Reference:
Book of Negroes online with NS Public Archives, accessed February 18, 2026
