2025 Spring & Summer Newsletter
Spring came and went so quickly for me this year.
There was a lot going on, caught the flu, was travelling a lot, so, apologies for the doubled-up newsletter of spring & summer. I feel lucky that I got to experience not one, but four springs so far, and now we are full into the summer heat.
I was in BC in late February and early March, doing my show The Queen In Me with Opera Kelowna. We had a wonderful time sharing it with Okanagan audiences and then singing songs of a different Queen, Freddy Mercury that is, with the Gary Cable Project. I performed my first public low F, and belted B flat in the middle of the staff to a sold out Kelowna audience. Rock star dreams really do come true! 🎸👨🏼🎤🤘
At the end of March I had the privilege of being in Tokyo for two weeks studying under the auspice of some amazing experts of various Japanese vocal techniques. You guessed it: it was indeed cherry blossom season.
Project T: Home Video came to Confluence Concerts in early May where the lilac and magnolia trees were a gorgeous fragrance and sight. And most recently I got to enjoy Edmonton’s spring filled with magpies and bluejays while premiering Leslie Uyeda’s second opera Silence.
I’m composing this newsletter as I fly out west to spend time with family in BC, try my luck at surfing, and prepare for a few more performances (newbie and oldie) later this summer with Theatre Gargantua’s SideStream Festival in Chatham, Ontario this August.
Enjoy your summers staying cool, hydrated and relaxed!
T.
RECAP: The Queen In Me in Kelowna
OPERA KELOWNA
The most recent performances of The Queen In Me were with Opera Kelowna, led by conductor and pianist Rosemary Thomson, and accompanied by a string quartet made up of awesome local instrumentalists (L-R above left) Olivia Walsh (cello), Adora Wong (second violin), Narumi Higuchi (first violin), and Fahlon Smith (viola). This show shares a huge part of my heart, so I was super happy to bring this show to the Okanagan and share its message.
👑 More west coast Canadian dates to be announced soon!
RECAP: Teiya, Tokyo & Teriyaki
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT IN JAPAN
My colleague Rita Ueda (composer, pictured to the right) encouraged me to apply for a Canada Council of the Arts grant to study Japanese Vocal Techniques with various specialists in genres of kagura, nagauta shamisen, min’yō shamisen, ji-uta (koto, my teacher Miyama McQueen-Tokita pictured to the right as well), biwa-uta, and nihon buyou (Japanese dance). It was also an immersive experience into the culture: living and commuting around the vast neighbourhoods that make up Tokyo, watching three different kabuki plays/dances at the Kabuki-za, seeing my first ever Noh performance, and witnessing the beautiful nature.
For many years, I never thought I would ever go to Japan, and then after my first visit about 7 years ago I wondered when I would ever return. Now I want to go back as much as possible, and learn this language fully. I’m excited to apply these vocal techniques to other ongoing projects and new ideas that I’m working on, with Noriko Kobayashi called Kabuki Get! 歌舞伎ゲット! and The Butterfly Project. The next iteration will be an album recording produced by Amplified Opera, so stay tuned about its progress!
RECAP: Project T: Home Video
CONFLUENCE CONCERTS
Project T: Home Video hit the stage in early May as a part of my time as an artistic associate at Confluence Concerts. The iteration has continued since last June where I launched this iterative public journey at ChamberQUEER’s festival in New York. I was very happy to share the stage with pianist David Eliakis again as I work through and express what it feels like to be a trans opera singer before taking testosterone.
The feelings are mixed and complex, and that is why I want to intentionally share this process with friends, colleagues, and community. I’m not exactly sure when the start date will be, but hopefully by the New Year. Keep you posted on social media! I’m currently recording my voice now, and throughout the process of taking testosterone to share in all the highs, lows (literally) and detours of this vocal journey.
🎶 STAY TUNED:
A limited video release of Confluence Concerts’ Project T: Home Video is coming to YouTube in October!
RECAP: Silence
NUOVA VOCAL ARTS
In June, Edmonton experienced the world premiere of Leslie Uyeda and Darrin Hagen’s new opera Silence, produced by Nuova Vocal Arts. The opera was adapted from the original work by UK playwright Moira Buffini (1999).
I’ve been so lucky to be able to premiere not one, but two of Leslie’s operas (When the Sun Comes Out, 2013 in Vancouver). Leslie is one of the finest composers I’ve witnessed in my 20 years in this industry, and I feel so honoured whenever I get the chance to sing her music: music that is always encouraging me to grow and become better as an artist and human. I’m thankful for her friendship, mentorship and guidance, as she hired me for my first ever professional gig as the understudy for Naomi in Vancouver Opera’s school tour back in 2005 of Naomi’s Road, a children’s opera by Ramona Luengen and Ann Hodges after the children’s book by Joy Kogawa. I got called up to sing the role for one-week in northern BC later that season, and it was one of the most exhilarating week’s of my career to date.
I’m grateful to my supportive colleagues and new and old friends in Edmonton, for the meals, the laughs, the gym buddies, the sword fights, the impromptu bbq’s and back-alley rock concerts. I will forever be a “fourteen-year-old man-warrior” in the YEG.
UPCOMING: Both Sides Now & The Queen In Me
THEATRE GARGANTUA’S SIDESTREAM FESTIVAL
This August, Theatre Gargantua will present their 4-day Sidestream Festival in Chatham, ON from Aug 6-9 of various theatre, opera, and music offerings from some very exciting Toronto-based artists, including a new offering by myself and pianist David Eliakis.
On Aug 8 I’m joined by pianist David Eliakis for an evening of Canadian songs called Both Sides Now that have been reimagined through our experiences as classical musicians. This magical evening of melodies will ignite nostalgia from coast to coast to coast, including legendary artists like Joni Mitchell, Jane Siberry, k.d. lang, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Susan Aglukark and more, all woven together with personal anecdotes by the performers themselves.
And for one night only, we are offering The Queen In Me on Aug 9, also accompanied by David Eliakis on the piano!
Photo Credits
1. Trinity Bellwoods Park and cherry blossoms (selfie).
2. Afterparty of The Queen In Me with Opera Kelowna. (L-R) Rosemary Thomson, Brianna Wells, Michael Spence, Jacquie PA Thomas, Stephanie Marrs, Laird Macdonald, me, Mike Spence, Annette Kasahara. Post-show cast photo (L-R) Olivia Walsh, Adora Wong, me, Narumi Higuchi, Fahlon Smith, Rosemary Thomson. Me in front of Lake Okanagan.
3. Teiya beside an eel restaurant in Kawagoe. With Rita Ueda and Miyama McQueen-Tokita post rehearsal in Nerima. Kabuki-za Theatre lit up at night in Ginza. Teiya with bamboo trees in Yahashira Cemetery.
4. Video still from Project T: Home Video of me. Larry Beckwith and me in pre-show chat. Me with friends Chiro Yasufuku, Aria Umezawa and Asitha Tennekoon post-show.
5. As Silence in the opera Silence, with Lara Ciekiewicz as Ymma and Matthew Dalen as Roger. Photo credit: Nanc Price.
6. Promo photo of Both Sides Now: David Eliakis and me, courtesy of Theatre Gargantua. The Queen In Me by Dahlia Katz.