Laura Power
Northern News Services
Published Friday, January 11, 2008

YELLOWKNIFE - Theresa Pamplin is back in her hometown this weekend for her first shot at performing at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.

The young singer, who has been living in Calgary most of her life, developed a love for singing as a high school student.

Theresa Pamplin, front, will perform at Northern Arts and Culture Centre tomorrow night. In the background is her accompanying pianist, Amy Hendricks. - Laura Power/NNSL photo

"I was in high school choir and I decided that I wanted to be the soloist in the choir and not just in the choir," she said.

Since then, she has mastered several styles of singing including opera and baroque.

Pamplin recalls a time when she was quite shy about singing in front of audiences but with experience under her belt and after gaining a degree in music from the University of Calgary, she's not at all bashful anymore.

This summer, she was home in Yellowknife to perform at Folk on the Rocks for the first time, and played on several stages including the children's stage, the side stage and the main stage as well as a collaboration with ArtCirq.

On the main stage, her act came right before acts such as Godson and Sarah Harmer.

"Everyone's very excited and energetic," she said of the Yellowknife audience.

Her performance at the festival was also her first time playing with accompanist Amy Hendricks, a pianist her father helped her find before the show.

"It was so different and so beautiful," Ozgur Culha of NACC said of their performance.

Hendricks has been playing piano for more than 30 years - since she was just five-years-old.

The two musicians had great musical chemistry right from the beginning.

"We know what we want from the pieces and we're both hard workers about it," she said. "We always come prepared and work well together."

Now Pamplin is back in town again, Hendricks will back her up for the show at NACC. Though this is Pamplin's first show on that stage, Hendricks has played there with an assortment of acts including Yellowknife Choral Society, Classics On Stage Yellowknife (COSY) and several other soloists.

But Culha is confident in Pamplin's ability to charm the crowd.

"She has a beautiful voice and she sings a variety of music," she said.

Pamplin hopes this weekend isn't her last time playing with Hendricks, and also hopes to get back to her home turf to play again soon.

"I would love to continue playing with her," she said. "Maybe with all good luck, I'll be back for Folk on the Rocks. Who knows?"

The show will take place tomorrow night at NACC starting at 8 p.m.

The show will feature a variety of her practiced styles and will be one of the first performances in NACC's Northern Performers Series 2008.

Tonight, the series kicks off on the same stage, which will be graced by Holly Darkes, a classical pianist from Fort Smith. The show starts at 8 p.m.