Canadian mezzo soprano, Hillary Tufford is a versatile and engaging performer, noted for a sound that is “lush and suave throughout,” (Opera Canada, Forner). A 2017 Graduate of Western University, (Masters in Literature and Performance), Hillary was invited to join the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program at Vancouver Opera where she sang Hebe in their 2022 production of HMS Pinafore, and “almost stole the show” as Lola in their concert performance of Cavalleria Rusticana.

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This season, Hillary made her debut with The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Messiah, as well as her Soundstreams debut in The Garden of Vanished Pleasures with music by Cecilia Livingston and Donna McKevitt. This season, Hillary also triumphantly jumped-in for the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, singing Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. In past seasons, Hillary has performed with the Elmer Eisler Singers, Victoria Philharmonic Choir, Vancouver Bach Choir and the Kingston Symphony.

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Hillary was “warm and fun as Hermia” in Vancouver Opera’s 2023 production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and she sang Flora in Brott Opera’s 2023 production of La Traviata, Alain Trudel conducting. At Highlands Opera Studio’s production of Eugene Onegin, Opera Canada’s Dawn Martens wrote “Hillary Tufford was an engaging Olga, perfectly embodying the flirtatious innocence of the character, while also showcasing a rich, velvety tone”.

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Hillary was a District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a Finalist for the Mozart Project Competition, and a semi-finalist for the Nuits Lyriques de Marmande. She has received grants from the Canadian Council for the Arts, The Jaqueline Desmarais Foundation, RBC Emerging Artist Project, and The Hazel Crydermann-Wees Foundation.