Avis Phillips

Phillips, Avis

Avis (Ruth) Phillips. Soprano, teacher, b Winnipeg 16 Nov 1900, d Vancouver 7 Mar 1986; ATCM 1918, ARCM voice 1925, ARCM piano 1925. After piano studies in Mount Forest, Ont, with Alice Roger Collins, she attended the RCM 1921-5 under Aubyn Raymar (piano) and Edith Grepe (voice). Subsequently she sang in Napier Miles' opera productions under Adrian Boult in Bristol, England, and studied 1927-30 with Edgar Schofield and Alfred Boyce in New York, also singing as a paid soloist in churches there. In 1928 she gave recitals in Montreal and Quebec. She continued to study (eg, in 1934 with Reinhold von Warlich in Salzburg). In 1934 she sang with the Montreal Orchestra and gave recitals in Winnipeg; Calgary; Kelowna, BC; and Victoria, BC. She was the first Vancouver singer to perform in concert and on radio with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and sang on CNRV radio and was a soloist in two Malkin Bowl concerts. She continued to perform until the 1940s.

Phillips began teaching in 1930 in Vancouver. During several years as a drama and speech instructor at the Vancouver Community College (Langara campus) and more than 30 years as a private teacher of voice and accompaniment, she taught Milla Andrew, Norah Halliday, Phylis Inglis, Betty Phillips, Scott Robertson, Jacqueline Smith, and Ann Watt.