Artist of the Week: Emmerson Powers

Warwick Valley High School senior Emmerson Powers steps into the role of this year’s president of Meistersingers after years of building a foundation in dance, theater, and music that stretches back to when she was four years old.

At the time, Emmerson started dancing in ballet with her mother’s encouragement. Over the years, she’s branched out into contemporary, tap, and jazz.

“I guess dance has just always been kind of there for me in my life,” she said. “It’s always been a creative outlet for me.”

By around eight, Emmerson had joined the Warwick Center for the Performing Arts, where she has continued ever since.

A elementary school performance leads to many more

Her introduction to musical theater came in third grade, when she auditioned for “Willy Wonka Kids” at Sanfordville Elementary School and landed the lead role of Charlie Bucket — despite, she recalled, some boys telling her she had no shot at the male part.

She stayed involved in school productions through elementary and middle school, including Annie in fourth grade (as con artist Lily St. Regis), and, middle-school productions of “Frozen” and “Working” as part of the ensemble under the direction of choral teacher Noreen Hanson.

When she was in seventh grade, the performing arts center launched a theater program of its own, staging main-stage musicals. Emmerson said the shows helped fuel her continued interest in performing. She played the title role in Mary Poppins as a freshman, calling it a meaningful opportunity given the character’s popularity.

In her junior year, she played Éponine in the high school’s production of Les Misérables, which she described as one of the best shows the school has put on.

This year, Emmerson is preparing for a spring musical at the high school — a production of Urinetown — as well as a production of The Wizard of Oz at the performing arts center. She is also currently preparing for The Nutcracker, a ballet tradition she’s taken part in through the Warwick Center for the Performing Arts every year since she was seven.

Asked whether she’d been a fixture in both the school’s productions and the shows staged through the Warwick Center for the Performing Arts, Emmerson didn’t hesitate. “I’ve done probably about all of them,” she said — a reflection of a theater career that has run in parallel tracks since elementary school.

Looking ahead, Emmerson hopes to study musical theater in college on a bachelor of fine arts track, with her top choices being the University of Michigan, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Pace University and New York University. She’s currently working on audition prep for those programs.

Leading the Meistersingers

As Meistersingers president, Emmerson leads a group that has grown substantially in recent years — from around 30 members during her freshman year to 52 last year. This year the group is above 60.

Emmerson said her focus is on making sure the group stays connected and that everyone — new and returning members alike — is supported and working hard together. She described her leadership approach as collaborative: she prefers to hear input from the whole group rather than make decisions on her own, pointing to a recent class vote on a potential group trip as an example. The choir is also working on organizing fundraisers this year.

A driven leader

Hanson, who has taught Emmerson since fifth grade at the middle school — both at school and through private voice lessons and coaching her acting — praised her as a driven leader.

”Emmerson is one of those students who makes you proud to be her teacher,” Hanson said. “I have had the opportunity to work with her for many years and she has always been incredibly driven and hardworking. She gives everything. She does her best effort and never stops pushing herself to be better. I have loved watching her grow over the years, and I know that whatever she sets her mind to, she will work hard to accomplish. She makes me proud all the time.”

For her part, Emmerson described Hanson as far more than a teacher. “Ms. Hanson is like a second mom to me,” she said. “Although she’s my teacher, she’s much more than that, too. She’s just such a caring person, and she puts other people before herself. I think she’s really inspiring for a lot of people.”