Dustin Lee Hiles

Dustin Hiles (born in Mission, British Columbia) is a Canadian tenor of Hawaiian descent. Using a range of vocal styles and characterizations, he sings in recitals and concerts and performs in opera, operetta, and oratorio.
Career
Hiles has worked with the several voice techers and coaches including Mattias Lederman, Stuart Hamilton, and Imre Pallo. He has also studied under Perry Price and Heather Thomson and in 2008 with the sopranos Maria Pellegrini and Cynthia Lawrence. Vocal adjudications include those of Jane Eaglen, Judith Forst, Siegfried Jerusalem, and Carol Vaness.

In opera he has performed in Puccini's Tosca (Vancouver Opera); Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (Opera Fort Collins, Colorado); John Estacio's Filumena (Banff Opera); and both Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with Burnaby Lyric Opera. With the University of British Columbia, Hiles has worked as a production assistant in their Opera Ensemble productions of Mozart's The Magic Flute and George Ryan's The Ghost in the Turret (world premiere). He made his debut, with the Ensemble, in their 2005 production of Massenet's Manon and has covered the role of Monastatos with the same group. The 2008/09 season will include his debut as Don José in Carmen (University of Ottawa Opera Workshop) and Goro in Madama Butterfly (Pellegrini Opera).

His concert appearances include Manitoba Opera’s 35th Anniversary Gala; Magic Moments in Operetta and Wunschkakanzert in Vancouver, Abbottsford, and Chilliwack; Dean Regan's Tribute to Irving Berlin at the Surrey Arts Theatre; the Flin Flon Community Choir's Northern Reflections Tour of Handel's Messiah, and Vancouver Symphony's sing along Messiah. He has also performed as a guest artist with the Vancouver and Fraser Valley Symphonies.

In the summer of 2006 Hiles performed in Hawaii with Don Ho. This led to performances with Aunty Genoa Keawe, the godmother of Hawaiian hula and folk. Hiles has appeared on Much Music Canada, Canadian Idol, The Sports Network (TSN), The Wilf Ray Show, and Shaw Channel 4 to talk about opera and classical music among young people. He has also performed for religious and political leaders including Prime Minister Steven Harper and has given concerts for the Liberal Party of Canada, the BC Liberal Party, The 2010 Winter Olympic Committee, Grey Cup Vancouver 2005 and Winnipeg 2006, Canadian and American Legion, Canadian and American Lions Club, and the Italian Cultural Centre, Vancouver.
Reviews
Hiles has been called "Canada's next great opera star" by Canadian Idol judge, Sass Jordan, and "Canada's future Pavarotti" by opera singer Maria Pellegrini. The Mission Abbotsford Times and BC Catholic have written "With closed eyes, one would think the voice belonging to Dustin Hiles is that of a tenor with decades of experience".. eXra West wrote "His dedication to dramatic interpretation calls up the spectre of opera diva Maria Callas" and "In performance, Hiles does exude that Callas-esque involvement with the work. His eyes, below a mop of poet's black hair, shake with passion; his hands reach out longingly."

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