Rock, Pop, Opera!

An early love of music has led to a remarkable place

- Patricia O'callaghan

When I was five, I entered a rhythm band competition, as the conductor of our band, and we won. The same year my mom enrolled me in a singing contest, and much to my surprise, I was awarded the first prize! I think those two events gave me a taste for the stage very early on and likely shaped my career trajectory.

My dad was a pulp and paper engineer who moved here from Ireland as a young man, and every time he got a promotion, we would move to a different town, somewhere in northern Ontario, Manitoba or Quebec, until we eventually settled in the town of Iroquois Falls, Ont. In every community we went to, I would ask if there was a singing teacher, but there never was, so I studied classical piano with the various local teachers. In the meantime, I wrote my own songs at the piano, and sang in heavy metal and rock bands when I was 14 and 15 years old. Finally, at the age of 16, my guidance counselor put me in touch with a singing teacher in Timmins, the nearest city to us, about an hour’s drive away. My parents faithfully drove me to choir practice and private lessons weekly throughout the harsh winters.