Olive MacPhail interviewed by Music4All host, Christina Acton

Tubist Olive MacPhail, was raised as a young fiddler in Meadowbank, Prince Edward Island. They have recently completed their Bachelor of Music Education and tuba performance at the University of Prince Edward Island, and will begin their Master of Music in Performance and Pedagogy at Memorial University of Newfoundland in the fall of 2023. Olive plays tuba with the UPEI Wind Symphony, UPEI Brass Ensemble, and the Confederation Brass Quintet. They also have had multiple solo performances, including the Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra’s Tuning into Nature event, Under the Spire Music Festival’s Youth Legacy Concert, and Under the Spire Music Festival’s LGBTQIA2S+ Pride Ceilidh.

While Olive’s focus lies in playing tuba, they also spend their time singing with the Luminos Ensemble, and have participated in minor roles in UPEI’s performances of Mozart’s Magic Flute and Purcell’s Dido and Aneas. Olive has received multiple awards for their solo performances in music competitions, including the 2021 Queen’s County Senior Rose Bowl, 1st place in the Brass category at the 2022 FCMF National Music Festival, 1st place in the 2021 and 2023 Frances Gray Performance Competition, and 2nd place in the 2022 Frances Gray Performance Competition. Olive also had the opportunity to perform a junior recital in collaboration with Alex Sorensen and Frances McBurnie in March 2021 and an independent senior recital with Frances McBurnie in April 2022. Other recent performances include their rendition of Edward Gregson’s Tuba Concerto with the UPEI Wind Symphony and their Directed Studies Lecture Recital, Tuba and the Orchestra, in December 2022.

Olive has a passion for teaching music, having had multiple private students in brass, music appreciation, and ear training over the years. They have experience teaching in both elementary and secondary music programs in the Public School System on Prince Edward Island and find incredible joy in bringing music into the lives of their students. After completing their graduate studies, Olive plans to return to Prince Edward Island to become a full-time music educator and performer before pursuing a Ph.D. in Music and Arts Education, eventually instructing at the post-secondary level.