It’s rare in the music business that a performer walks out of an audition knowing they’ve already been accepted.
But that’s exactly what happened in February when Cochrane harpist Phoebe Powell auditioned for the Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School of Music.
“It’s quite rare that you get accepted on the spot,” said Powell humbly. “I was shocked…. It definitely made my day.”
She earned herself the one remaining seat in the program for a harpist. And so, come this fall, Powell and her harp will make the trip eastward, to Toronto. There she will study with illustrious Canadian harpist Judy Loman. Currently, she’s taught by Gianetta Baril.
The program, she said, will allow her to further her craft, as it has more of a performance focus than an academic or theory focus.
At 19, Powell has a lengthy history with music, first trying her hand at piano as a six-year-old, before shifting her concentration to the harp at the age of 10.
“I just decided one day I wanted to play the harp — I thought it was a lovely instrument,” she said. “I’m the type of person who likes to follow things through and the instrument is difficult to learn.
“It’s what I get back from the harp that keeps me playing.”
It seems she’s been getting back a lot, at least in terms of recent accomplishments. In 2012 she was declared a winner of Calgary C3 Concerto Competition and the Frank Simpson Concerto Competition, and was awarded one of only six spots in her division for the Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival’s Stars of the Festival finale concert. If that wasn’t enough, she travelled, with the Calgary Youth Orchestra, to France for her first European performances.
“She’s worked unbelievable hard,” said her mother, Jessica Powell. “ She and her brother (Edward) both enjoy their music so much.
“I’m so proud.”
If music could be found in genes, then it certain would be in this family. Jessica, herself, plays the piano, oboe and flute. Phoebe’s younger brother, Edward, is an accomplished musician in his own right.
A violinist, Edward has been following in his sister’s footsteps, almost literally. This year, he was a winner at both the Calgary Concerto Competition and the Frank Simpson Concerto Competition — the same events Phoebe won in 2012.
“It’s so nice to see all my older siblings go on to do great things,” said Edward.
He has some big shoes to fill; his oldest sister Deborah (25) is a photographer, brother Peter (24) is studying classical guitar at McGill University, his other brother James (22) plays the French horn, and then, of course, there’s Phoebe.
“I’m next. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me,” he said with a laugh.
For the short term, music lovers can get a taste of what Edward has to offer as her performs the first movement of Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Calgary Civic Symphony at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary on April 21. Attendees of the Earth Day and C3 event will be able to here the sounds of Phoebe as well, as a harpist in the symphony.
Tickets for the event are $20 and can be ordered by calling Jessica Powell at 403-851-8198 or through the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts.
