Erica Goodman is one of the preeminent Canadian harpists of her generation, having had an illustrious career dating back even to her years at Branksome Hall. She has held positions as a harpist in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and was the original harpist for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, hand-picked to be in the orchestra by Mario Bernardi. Her recordings have won numerous awards including a Juno in 1995 and a Grand Prix du Disque in 1980. She continues to play today and has a busy upcoming season.

Erica and I have been like ships in the night in many ways through our careers, both working in the classical music community in Canada. I was delighted to find out that she was a Branksome alum as well, and frankly, I was embarrassed not to have known this before. Many of my friends in the harp community know Erica, I have heard Erica play, my husband Evan Mitchell has conducted her in orchestras, and yet we had never met. 

When we first got on the phone for the interview, we discovered yet another special connection as Erica knew my grandfather, Bill Krehm. Erica’s father was friends with Bill, and she remembers coming over to his house as a child and playing with my father and uncle. I told her that I was in that very house right now because it is still in the family. I was just delighted to connect with Erica, get to know her a little and hear so many wonderful stories and to be able to share a little bit about her now with you.

Can you tell us about your time at Branksome Hall? Is there a memory or a particular teacher that has stayed with you?

I came to Branksome in Grade 5. Before that, I was at the Child Institute of Learning (Now the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study) where we didn’t have exams. So coming to Branksome was good, but tricky. In Grade 6, I had a fabulous teacher, Ms. Johnson, who was also the principal of the Junior School. Grade 6 was a wonderful year. She was strict, but wise. After Grade 6, it got harder for me to balance. I was playing music more and more, and I was allowed to miss classes, provided that I kept my grades up. But I had a very, very good friend, Marion FINDLAY Morris'67, and she was my saviour because when I missed school, she used to give me the work I missed and help me catch up. I am still friends with her to this day and see her when I play in Festival of the Sound. And of course I remember the Carol Service fondly. I always wanted to be one of the Angels, but never got to do it because I would be playing the harp.

What drew you to the harp?

I started with the piano. We had a Heintzman upright piano at home, and when I was very, very young, I started to pick out tunes and play them on the piano. My father, Hyman Goodman, was a violinist and the concert master of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and I would hear him practising and playing chamber music at home. Because of this, my parents figured out I had a good ear and was musically talented. My parents started me on piano because it is the best foundation for a musician.

My father hoped I would play violin, and my mother hoped I would be a singer, but when I was four, I was taken to a Toronto Symphony rehearsal for a promenade concert in what is now Varsity Stadium, and I spotted a harp. It was love at first sight.

After that, all I wanted to do was play the harp, but I was too small to touch the pedals, and in those days, it was impossible to get a smaller harp to begin with. So my parents and I made a deal: if I passed my grade eight piano exam, I could play the harp. So I worked really hard, and by age 8, I took the grade eight piano exam (my first exam ever). I sailed through the piano part, struggled with the theory (but passed) and nailed the ear training part. So I passed, and my parents honoured the deal, but it took a couple of years to find a harp to buy, and by then, I was just tall enough to touch the pedals. I was also lucky to have long arms to be able to reach all the strings!

You have had such a prolific career; what have been some highlights or moments you remember most? 

While I was a student at what is now Interlochen Music Camp, we were invited onto the White House lawn in front of President Kennedy. I still can’t believe it. We played "The Blue Danube," and then President Kennedy gave a speech. It was an amazing experience. Years later, I got to play for the Queen, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the Cabinet at the signing of the Constitution. At the centennial, the National Arts Centre Orchestra was created, and the entire orchestra was handpicked. I was their first harpist. The orchestra’s first concert was in New York City at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. At this concert, I got to play the "Harry Somers Suite for Harp and Chamber Orchestra." 

Other highlights include working with artists like Nureyev or playing for The King and I at the O’Keefe Centre (now Meridian Hall) with Yul Brynner. It was when he had lung cancer, and the whole backstage was laden with oxygen tanks, but he managed to pull off the performances because he was so motivated to perform. He would decide each performance if he was able to perform the number “A Puzzlement.” They would signal to the conductor with a light if it was on. If we didn’t, the poor woman playing Anna had to have the quickest costume change ever! 

I am so grateful for the times that I got to play chamber music with my father. I didn’t realise how amazing it was to play with a family member. He just sensed what the other one was going to do, and it was just part of our psyches that we thought and reacted the same way. 

Where can we hear you play this year? 

I am very much looking forward to playing with my colleague Suzanne Schulman (flute) in the Great Artists Music Series at the Aurora Cultural Centre on November 22. 

You can also catch me as the harpist with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and Esprit Orchestra.