Mission Statement

Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was taught how to read music before I was able to read words. It has helped create who I am and I can’t believe how lucky I am, that it is also what I do. As a child, I wanted nothing more than to be a doctor. The idea of helping sick people get better was enticing to me. Music has the same appeal. You never know who is sitting in your concert hall, who is going for a difficult time. We get to transport people to a different place, to express for them that which they have trouble expressing, to give them even a moment of relief, to inspire them.

As a collaborative pianist specializing in vocal accompaniment, people often ask, why singers and not instruments? The marriage of music and poetry is something I fall in love with, over and over again. It gives depth and opportunity for even more interpretive exploration. You are working with two incredible minds, composer and poet, instead of one.

As a coach and pianist, I enjoy working with singers on the important foundations of music. (notes, rhythms, diction, style) However, I love building upon those foundations to find what they have to say as a person, as an artist.

I am humbled and excited to have the opportunity to work at the Bytown School of Singing alongside so many talented colleagues and am looking forward to helping students grow.

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” ― Victor Hugo

Biography

Pianist, Aude Urbancic, has her Doctorate of Music in Collaborative Piano with a specialization in vocal accompaniment at the University of Montreal studying with Francis Perron, Liz Upchurch, and Robin Wheeler. . She holds a diploma in Collaborative Piano from the University of Montreal and a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Ottawa.

Aude has a particular passion for opera and choral music. During the last few years, she was one of the rehearsal pianists for Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart’s Magic Flute, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette and Menotti’s the Telephone. She has also rehearsed major choral works including Sokolovic’s Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Britten’s War Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah at the National Arts Centre. She has also been on faculty for two summer academies, CAMMAC and BIIMA (Breno Italy International Music Academy).

Based in Ottawa, Aude keeps busy with her large teaching studio and is a sought-after clinician. She has adjudicated at the New Brunswick Competitive Festival of Music and has given many masterclasses. She is the music director at Church of the Ascension, the artistic director of the Ottawa Carleton Male Choir, and the pianist for the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir. Aude is also a vocal coach and pianist for many local voice studios including for the Bytown School of Singing. She also plays for both vocal and instrumental studios at the University of Ottawa.

When Aude is not making music, she enjoys beekeeping, photography, gardening, cooking and tango dancing.