Bio

Rita Ueda is a Canadian composer based in the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, colonially known as Vancouver. Applauded as a composer whose ‘poetic is often very delicate and introspective…’ (Guido Barbieri, Warner Classics), her works inspire contemplation and dialogue between cultures in flux. Notable recent works include “as the first spring blossoms awaken through the snow” (2021), “let us not be the reason someone out there is praying for peace” (2020), and “forty years of snowfall will not heal an ancient forest” (2010). Her 25-minute orchestral work, “Birds Calling… From the Canada in You” (2022) is described as “… fresh, thoroughly Canadian, and breathtakingly original.” (James Imam, Musical America Worldwide).

Winner of the 2022 Jules Léger Prize for New Canadian Chamber Music, 2022 Azrieli Prize in Canadian Music, and the 2014 Penderecki International Composers’ Competition, Ms Ueda has premiered works with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest MAV Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Prague Modern, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the SYC Ensemble Singers (Singapore). Since 2012, she has been creating intercultural collaborations with the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, BC Chinese Music Ensemble, Allegra Chamber Orchestra, and the Turning Point Ensemble.

Ms Ueda holds degrees from Simon Fraser University and the California Institute for the Arts where her teachers include Rudolf Komorous, Rodney Sharman, David Rosenboom, Wadada Leo Smith, and Morton Subotnick. Her latest chamber opera, “I Have My Mother’s Eyes: a Holocaust Memoir Across Generations” featuring musicians from Japan and Canada will premiere at the Chutzpah! Festival (Vancouver) in November 2023.