Singing

Luka Kawabata

Nikkei-Canadian artist, Luka Kawabata 川端ルカ has quickly established himself within Canadian opera. As a baritone and producer, he strives to push the boundaries of representation in opera through the creation of new works. Luka is a recent graduate of the Yulanda M Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera, the Digital Emerging Artist Residency (Manitoba […]

Teiya Kasahara 笠原 貞野

Nikkei-Canadian settler Teiya Kasahara 笠原 貞野 (they/them) is a queer, trans non-binary, interdisciplinary creator-performer based in Tkarón:to (Toronto). Heralded as “a force of nature” (Toronto Star) and “an artist with extraordinary things to say” (The Globe and Mail) Teiya comes from a background of over a decade of singing both traditional and contemporary operatic roles […]

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, […]

Aiko Saita

Aiko Saita was a well-loved Nisei mezzo-soprano/contralto singer. Born in BC in 1909, Aiko grew up in Cumberland and dreamed of becoming a dentist. At the age of 14, she moved to Vancouver to attend high school, working for the dentist Dr. Miyake and his wife as a live-in maid and nurse for their children. […]

Brent Hirose

Brent Hirose is an actor, writer, director, improviser, playwright and voice over artist based in Vancouver, BC. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, he grew up all over the middle of Canada before settling in Winnipeg where he graduated with Honours from the University of Winnipeg’s Theatre and Film Program. Working there for over a decade, he […]

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. […]

Sally Nakamura

Satoshi (Sally) Nakamura was born on Powell Street in Vancouver. He enjoyed a varied artistic life as a singer, actor and entertainer. In Vancouver, he took voice training with Gideon Hicks, a well-known baritone, conductor, and music teacher. He also loved to sing popular songs and would entertain at the Japanese language school. He could […]

Sam Furuya

Sam Furuya was a Nisei singer who was active before, during, and after the Second World War. His trademark song was Someone to Watch Over Me, and he settled in Toronto after the war.

Roy Kusano

Roy Kusano is a Sansei country-folk singer who was billed as the ‘Yodelling Cowboy.’ He was active in the 1960s era of the Yorkville Village in Toronto, and well-known for his rendition of Gordon Lightfoot’s Steel Rail Blues. He is also a past president of the Toronto Buddhist Church.

Harry Kumano

Harry Kumano was a Nisei singer and actor. An active member of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto, he is well known as the founder, director, and conductor of the Sansei Choir. He also did film work, appearing in several commercials. He once had an ambition to ‘play all the Buddhist churches up and […]

Grace Terakita

Grace Fujie Terakita was a well-known Nisei soprano singer before, during, and after the Second World War. When living in BC before the war, she recorded her trademark song Shinna no Yoru (China Nights). She lived in the Winnipeg area after the war. Her accompanist in BC was Vernon Hakkaku. In Manitoba, Terakita sang with […]

Garry Kawasaki

Garry Kawasaki is a musician who played bass and provided vocals for the Asia Minors, an Asian Canadian top 40s rock band that played in Toronto in the 1960s. He collaborated many times with Terry Watada, including appearing in his album Runaway Horses and several other recordings. He has also performed with the band the […]

Alan Kondo

Alan Kondo was the first lead singer of the Asia Minors, an Asian Canadian top 40s rock band in the 1960s in Toronto. After leaving the band, he went on to study film at UCLA under Jerry Lewis, and became an editor for Visual Communications in Los Angeles. He edited Hito Hata, the first Asian […]

Kaya

Kaya is a vocalist and songwriter based in Burnaby, BC with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz from Capilano University. As a queer woman of colour, she values diversity and representation, and strives to create inclusive spaces in the Vancouver music scene. Kaya draws influences from artists such as Lake Street Dive, Nina Simone, Rebecca […]