A former Foothills resident, with strong local ties, has used her singing talent as a passport to many renowned locales.
Nicole Percifield, an accomplished opera singer who grew up on a farm outside of Blackie, said her voice has opened many doors for her as a performer.
“It has taken me to a lot of other places,” Percifield said. “This year I was actually home for my birthday for the first time in 10 years, but it’s taken me to Boston, New York, other locations in the states like Santa Fe and Colorado and a little bit of Europe too.”
While in Germany with an opera company September to January, the opera singer said the experience left her quite homesick.
Now she has returned home for a good part of the summer to visit family and friends. She will highlight her stay with a recital on July 31 at 3 p.m. in High River.
Not only will she perform a selection of opera favourites, but some folk music selections and other more light-hearted fare as well.
As a working mezzo-soprano Percifield generally sings in a range lower than a true soprano, but this could soon be changing.
“I’m dipping my foot into the soprano repertoire,” she said. “It started this January. So I’m just giving it a try and testing the waters before I commit to it and dive right in.”
The singer is currently in a transition period in her career, moving from young artist status to the role of professional singer. Percifield divulged young artists tend to work in the same opera company for months at a time in an internship capacity while professionals audition for specific productions one after another.
The locally raised talent said she would be spending much of August working in Tampa Bay with her voice teacher preparing for upcoming fall auditions in large centres like New York and Toronto.
For her local performance Sunday, Percifield said she planned to split things up with about half of the show devoted to classical opera selections and the rest of the program comprised of folk songs and other lighter musical fare.
“My favourite part is the reception we have afterwards because I get a chance to catch up with people,” she said.
Percifield explained she sees the local recital as a way to say ‘thank you’ to the many people in the Foothills who have supported her over the years
“I was definitely given opportunities through the Blackie Gladys Players and the High River Music Festival to just kind of explore,” Percifield explained. “Also, the Highwood Band program really helped me as well because when I went to high school the Highwood Band went to California one summer and went to Toronto another time, so it gave me a little bit of hint of the travelling you could do with your music.”
Percifield, who graduated from Highwood High School in 2001, got much experience early on as a musical theatre performer with the no longer operating Blackie Gladys Players. Her mother Leanne served as music director for the company while current Highwood MLA George Groeneveld was stage manager.
The local politician recalled seeing much in the young performer.
“I must have known Nicole all her life, from day one pretty much,” Groeneveld said. “She, along with her mother, was a very musical gal growing up. I guess it was kind of interesting to see how far she came along during her teenage years. She was continually improving, improving and improving. At that time it wasn’t hard to figure out she had a future in music for sure.”
Local fans will get to hear just how far she’s come at her performance Sunday at 3 p.m. at High River United Church. There is no set cost for the event but donations will be accepted at the door.
