Music

Yoko Galvin

Yoko Galvin was born in Tochigi, Japan. She travelled around the world in the 1970s, visiting Russia, Europe, and Canada, gaining experiences that she has beautifully incorporated into her art. Her unique perspective on life, love, and relationships results in some of the most captivating and inspiring pieces of musical and visual works. As a […]

Mark Takeshi McGregor

Described as a “mind-blowing” musician of “huge physical energy” (Victoria Times Colonist), flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading interpreters of contemporary, avant-garde, and experimental music. As a soloist, chamber musician, improvisor, interdisciplinary artist, and as flutist of the Victoria-based Aventa Ensemble, McGregor has performed extensively throughout North and South […]

Catalina Yue

Catalina Yue (born May 19 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, actress, model and businesswoman. She is a former delegate in the Miss Universe Canada competition. Yue worked as a model and graduated from the Arts and Business Program at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. For her debut album, […]

Vancouver Taiko Society

Taiko in Vancouver Inspired by a performance by the San Jose Taiko Group at the 1979 Powell Street Festival, members of Vancouver’s Asian community came together to form their own taiko group as a means of exploring and celebrating their heritage through the Japanese drum. With the formation of Katari Taiko in the fall of […]

Robert Hideki Uchida

Violinist Robert Uchida has been hailed for his “ravishing sound, eloquence and hypnotic intensity” (Strings Magazine). A regularly featured guest soloist with many of Canada’s orchestras and chamber music festivals, Robert recently had the honour of performing Bottessini’s Grand Duo Concertante with bassist Edgar Meyer under the direction of William Eddins. Concertmaster of the Edmonton […]

Carol Oya

Carol Oya hails from Vancouver. She’s been singing pretty much all her life. As a kid, she loved to watch “Solid Gold” and mimic her idols, Olivia Newton-John and Sheena Easton. Like every good Asian parent, her mum forced her to take piano lessons from the age of five. She fondly remembers crying while doing […]

Stephanie Eiko Nakagawa

Soprano, Dr. Stephanie Nakagawa, has a great passion for Canadian opera. Her outstanding contribution to the field and her publication, A Canadian Opera Aria Anthology for Soprano has been recognized by the Canadian Music Centre with the Barbara Pentland Award of Excellence. Stephanie completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice and Opera from […]

Kita no Taiko

Kita no Taiko is a non-profit, volunteer based Japanese Drumming group located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Our group formed in 1986. We have been honoured to play at festivals in Edmonton like the Fringe, K-Days, Heritage Festival and First Night, and at venues like the Jubilee, Winspear and Citadel theatres. We have done collaborative performances […]

Rachel Sachiko Mercer

Described as a “pure chamber musician” (Globe and Mail) creating “moments of pure magic” (Toronto Star), Canadian cellist Rachel Mercer has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across five continents. Grand prize winner of the 2001 Vriendenkrans Competition in Amsterdam, Rachel is cellist of Ensemble Made In Canada, the Mercer-Park Duo, the AYR Piano […]

Keri Latimer

Keri Latimer is a Japanese/Irish/Canadian songwriter, film composer and front woman of the band Leaf Rapids from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Live performances include guitar, vocals and theremin which are looped into haunting layers. Her music emanates from a sensibility that crosses genres and blends disparate styles. Her songwriting often incorporates stories inspired by her ancestors who […]

Camille Kiku Belair

Camille Kiku Belair is a Toronto based composer, classical guitarist, artist and writer. Interested in working with field recordings, experimenting with mixed media within visual arts is also a large part of their practice. Articles have appeared in the WholeNote Magazine. They are currently pursuing an MFA in Composition and Experimental Sound Practices at California […]

Tsutao Machida

Lily Ide

Ritsuko Lily Ide was a popular Nisei singer in Vancouver in the late 1930s and early 1940s who performed at community dances and had professional singing engagements in eastern Canada. She passed away in Slocan in 1943.

Lily Washimoto

Lily Washimoto was a popular Nisei lyric soprano singer in Vancouver in the late 1930s and early 1940s. She performed at the 1939 Vancouver Folk Fest and was a featured soloist on the CBC’s broadcast of part of the program; in 1941 she could be heard on the CBC radio program Sanctuary on Sunday evenings. […]

Wasteland Gardens

Wasteland Gardens: the Japanese Canadian Internment in Canada is a two-part, one-hour radio documentary about the Japanese Canadian Internment presented on the CBC Radio show, Ideas. Japanese Canadian artists contributing to this documentary, produced by Karen Levine (the award winning playwright and writer of Hana’s Suitcase) were Terry Watada (narrator and script consultant), Takeo Yamashiro […]