Bruce Ubukata joined the Board of the Art Song Foundation of Canada in 2015.
Bruce Ubukata has established a reputation as one of Canada’s leading vocal accompanists, working closely with Mary Lou Fallis in her successful one-woman shows, with Catherine Robbin, Donna Brown, Nathalie Paulin, Susan Platts, and many other singers.
His musical activities have included work with the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus, as well as engagements with Festival Ottawa, the Toronto Symphony, and the Canadian Opera Company, and regular engagements at the Britten-Pears Young Artists’ Programme in Aldeburgh, England. Bruce is also a noted organist, assisting Derek Holman for many years at Grace Church on-the-Hill and St. Simon the Apostle, Toronto, and has been harpsichordist with various baroque groups.
In 1982, Bruce and Stephen Ralls created the Aldeburgh Connection, a concert series in Toronto with the aim of promoting young singers, the art of the song, and the particular musical inspiration that was rooted in the famous collaboration between the great English composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, tenor Peter Pears. The Aldeburgh Connection’s final concert took place in May 2013. The organisation is now focussed on a number of educational projects, including the ordering and preservation of its archives.
In October 2010, Bruce and Stephen Ralls were joint recipients of an Opera Canada “Ruby” Award for their work in opera and with young Canadian singers. In the 2013 New Year’s Honours list, they were named Members of the Order of Canada.