[2] From 1952 to 1957, Mailing attended the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, where she studied with George Lambert, Weldon Kilburn, and Aksel Schiøtz.
[1] Upon her return to Canada, she settled first in Toronto to sing from 1961 to 1963, then relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland to open her own private studio, where she taught voice and the Orff method until 1965.
This served as a catalyst for her international career, which brought her to recital halls all across North America, France, and even the USSR in 1971.
[1] In addition to her performances of standard recital and operatic repertoire, Mailing became known as a specialist in contemporary classical music, in part due to her association with Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer.
[1] Many of Schafer's vocal works were written for, and premiered by Mailing, and include his Minnelieder (1965), Loving (1966), and Requiems for the Party Girl (1967), which she performed in 1972 with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Bruno Maderna.
[4] These performances significantly contributed to Mailing's reputation as an outstanding interpreter of contemporary music, and led to her involvement in the premieres of works by many Canadian composers, including István Anhalt, Jack Behrens, Jean Coulthard, Bruce Mather, Barbara Pentland, Harry Somers, Barry Truax, and Robert Turner, among others.