About
Rebecca Hass
Rebecca Hass Knowledge carrier of land, songs and stories Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario / Georgian Bay Métis, French, English, German
Rebecca Hass (Nitaawegiizhigok — Singing Sky Woman) is in her 40th year as a classical mezzo-soprano, having appeared with nearly every opera company and orchestra in Canada. She was the inaugural winner of the 2022 Nada Ristich Changemaker Ruby Award from Opera Canada, and today she’s known for something a little different: her passionate advocacy for reclaiming ancestral voice as a way of telling story, and for the new music she’s making at the meeting point of her two worlds. For Rebecca, music is a gathering place — a way to spark memory, connection to land, and a deeper sense of community and belonging. It’s the thread that runs through everything she makes now.
Her recent work has been supported by an artist residency at The Leighton Studios at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and through Soundstreams’ RBC Bridges Program. Her choral piece Ki Kishkishin (Do You Remember?) premiered with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and she was recently co-curator and composer for Earth Songs with the Newcombe Singers, including her piece Kitchen Party Spirit Song (May 2026). This season also marked the debut of The Song Blanket — a work of song and story she created, wrote, composed, and performed for Sparks and Wiry Cries, premiering at Symphony Space in New York City in February 2026 — alongside Loon Calls with NuMus Music (2025).
Rebecca carries these songs from the land into rooms around the world, bridging Western and Indigenous ways of knowing at gatherings like the People and Planet Conference in Lahti, Finland, and the opening ceremony of the Opera America Conference 2026.
She served on the Indigenous Committee with Canadian Actors’ Equity, and is part of the Racial Justice Opera Network and an Artist Circle member with the Dream Big Collective at the University of Manitoba.
Alongside her creative work, Rebecca is a certified creative living coach, mentor, and consultant, supporting artists across North America in bringing their whole, diverse selves into the professional world of classical music — with recent workshops and talks at the Manhattan School of Music, Bard College, and the Universities of Toronto, Manitoba, and Michigan. She’s also an accomplished broadcaster, documentary producer, and podcast creator and host (What’s Up with Opera), and currently serves as Director of Engagement and New Work at Pacific Opera Victoria on Lǝk̓ ʷǝŋǝn territory, where she also tends her medicine garden.
My Métis ancestry
My Métis family names are Delaronde and Croteau. I am also related to the Lizzote family through marriage. I am a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, with secured hunting rights on my family’s traditional territory. These rights are given only to Métis who meet the criteria as laid out in the Powley decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. You can learn more about the Métis of Ontario here.
Through my late father, Fraser Hass, and his mother, Louise Marie Croteau, I learned to hunt and fish, clean my own game, to take only what I need and to share. I learned which plants were for medicine on the French River, and how to walk on the land in a way that cared for my animal and plant relatives. I was raised with teachings to honor Mother Earth, and to always walk in good relationship with her. Learn more about my ancestry at the website of my cousin, retired Senator for the Métis Nation of Ontario- link below
Contact Me
Email: rebeccamhass@gmail.com
Phone: 250 508 7080
Media & Professional Resources
Curriculum Vitae: View here
Headshots: Download here