About

Kiiola

Kiiola is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter, keyboardist, educator, and award-winning broadcaster. Blending her Japanese roots with folk, pop, and jazz, she collaborates globally to create a warm and hopeful sound that bridges cultures. Born on World Hello Day, she carries a spirit of connection to every song.

Kiiola began playing the piano at the age of eight. Not long after discovering her passion for music, she fell in love with Michael J. Fox in a film and dreamed of living in Canada. After gaining years of experience singing as a member of professional a cappella groups in Tokyo, she decided to move to Canada to pursue her musical career. In 2008, she graduated from the Contemporary Music and Technology program at Selkirk College in Nelson, BC.

From 2007 to 2012, Kiiola hosted and produced a weekly music program called “Japanese Musiquest” on Kootenay Co-op Radio (Nelson, BC). The program was syndicated across Canada to four stations: CiTR 101.9 FM (Vancouver, BC), CJUC 92.5 FM (Whitehorse, YT), CJSF 90.1 FM (Burnaby, BC), and CILU 102.7 FM (Thunder Bay, ON).

In 2010, the program received an NCRA (National Campus and Community Radio Association) Outstanding Award for Music Programming. That same year, she returned to Japan and established a teaching career specializing in vocals, keyboards, and music theory. During this time, she also composed and recorded music for TV commercials and performed at festivals and events, including as a vocalist/keyboardist for a Japanese Elvis tribute band and alongside jazz musicians.

In 2016, Kiiola relocated to Toronto and quickly immersed herself in the music scene, performing with JUNO Award-winning guitarist Donné Roberts. She was selected to perform the Japanese National Anthem during the Ricoh Woodbine Mile at Woodbine Racetrack in 2018 and 2019, where her performance was broadcast nationally on TSN.

Deeply committed to Japanese folk music, Kiiola has worked to bring traditional music to international audiences. This includes producing and hosting a Canadian tour for a Japanese min’yo group with the support of the Japan Foundation. In Amami Oshima, she studied shimauta (island song) under master vocalist Yutaka Tsuboyama. She also pursued professional development in Akita folk traditions through Umewaka Geino Kikaku, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts’ Explore and Create grant. These experiences continue to shape her distinctive sound, weaving traditional and contemporary music together.

In 2020, she released her single “Inori”, introducing an authentic Japanese folk melody through a contemporary arrangement.

Awards and Honors

• Semi-Finalist | 2021 Unsigned Only Music Competition
• Semi-Finalist | 2012 & 2013 International Songwriting Competition
• Outstanding Achievement Winner | 2010 National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), for Japanese Musiquest