Emma Forgeron did not know she had won gold, but she did know she had taken her singing to another level.
The Grade 11 PGSS student was competing at the Performing Arts B.C. Provincial Festival, doing numbers at the intermediate level, in Musical Theatre and Vocal Variety categories - two of the toughest divisions.
"I felt like it was the best I'd ever done those songs," she said, "but I knew the other singers were the best of the best, so whatever was going to happen with the judging was just going to happen."
Her vocal coach, Robin Norman, knew she had top marks coming her way.
"She's a big deal," Norman said. "She's been doing well at provincials in the past, always in the hunt for the prizes, and now she finally broke through, she is a provincial champion and she deserves it."
Yes, it was Forgeron called to the top of the podium. She was awarded an honorable mention in the Variety category and the gold medal in the Musical Theatre category.
"When she (the adjudicator) called my name, everything just kind of slowed down. It was the best moment of my life, to date. It still gets me, when I think about it," said Forgeron.
The songs were If I Were A Bell, a standard from the musical Guys & Dolls, one called Don't Wanna Be Here from the recently composed musical Ordinary Days and also a tune called Perfect from the recent musical Edges.
"They were really contrasting pieces," said Norman. "She sang them very well, but she has an extra quality. When she sang Perfect, she had people in the audience in tears because she was so heartfelt and open and it was about issues of feeling inadequate and body image and self-esteem. Getting other competitors' mothers crying: you know you're doing well. The goal is being so honest out there that people just have to love you."
Forgeron feels that her dance classes play a role in her vocal qualities. Knowing how music and movement connect, physically and psychologically, makes for a more effective performance. She went into provincials this year knowing she had come to a crossroads where her age and experience and her skills were meeting at a critical point in front of that adjudicator. She gave it everything she had knowing it was a chance that wasn't going to happen again.
"I told myself it was time to make something happen," she said. "Having it happen just as I'd hoped feels amazing, but yes, it all happened because of 199 per cent work: rehearsal, practice, great teachers."
She also added that peer support was helpful. Other Prince George singers were also in the running, people she liked and respected and felt motivated by. They, too, received strong results. In the Senior Musical Theatre category Alex Verge from the Quesnel Music Festival got the runner-up citation and honorable mentions went to Eve Ghostkeeper, who earned her way in through the Lakes District Festival, and Emily Ryan from the Prince George Music Festival. Both Ghostkeeper and Ryan also scored runner-up status in the Senior Vocal Variety division.
Elayne Taylor got honorable mention in the National Musical Theatre category.
Finlay Peterson was runner-up in the Intermediate Vocal Variety category.
Forgeron had hardly any time to bask in the glow of the provincial win. She went directly back into the ever-intensifying rehearsals for Judy Russell's production of Mary Poppins.
"My big dream is to be on Broadway," said Forgeron. "Broadway is now, I think, a realistic goal. I've seen what I can do. I've heard the feedback of the adjudicator and my teachers. I know what I have to do to be successful and I'm going to do whatever I can to make it happen."
She gave Russell, Norman and her other instructors a big thank-you for the provincial success, but also tipped her hat to her parents and 11-year-old sister who is also an up-and-comer in her own rite. It takes a strong combination of family and community to develop an artist of any kind, Forgeron said, and Prince George is blessed with deep support for a young, aspiring performer.
