Phoebe Bodurtha ’15 brought the 2014 Dartmouth Idol audience to a roar when she sang “Defying Gravity,” from the Broadway hit “Wicked,” at the show’s finale. Nabbing a first-place finish was no feat of luck. Bodurtha has sung since middle school and had performed in Idol twice before.
Since her first Idol performance, Bodurtha has built on her understanding of her voice’s tone and range and worked to overcome performance anxiety. This time she felt more confident about singing onstage, she said.
“Particularly this year, I had a very healthy outlook in that I was there solely for the performance aspect, and I knew that I was pushing myself,” Bodurtha said. “I tried to have a positive attitude and not let anxiety get to me before I performed.”
Bodurtha began performing at the age of 13. Her first large audience included spectators at the 2007 Maccabi Games conference, a U.S. sports conference for Jewish athletes, who listened to her perform the Israeli national anthem. Though nervous, she sang with poise.
“I was crying and bawling leading up to this thing,” she said. “But after I had a positive experience with that, I became more passionate about singing and performing.”
In high school, Bodurtha sang in an all-female a cappella group but did not pursue formal vocal training. She also ran a choral and a cappella group for students from two charter middle schools in New Haven, Conn. Arts classes were not offered during daytime instruction, Bodurtha said, so she started an after-school club with a friend for students interested in singing.
The group’s members performed two notable concerts at a Mets game and a benefit event in New York City, Bodurtha said. At the Mets game, the middle school students sang during the opening ceremony, while Bodurtha sang the national anthem.
As a freshman, Bodurtha joined the Dodecaphonics, a coed a cappella group. She danced in Fusion Dance Ensemble and, over sophomore summer, participated in Sheba Lite.
Rachel Gray ’15, who befriended Bodurtha when they lived together on the same freshman floor, said she was blown away the first time she heard Bodurtha sing. Bodurtha had told some friends on her floor that she planned to try out for Idol and gave them a short preview, singing “Mercy” by Duffy.
“She has a very soulful and strong voice that you don’t expect from this little person,” Gray said.
Dodecaphonics member Katelyn Onufrey ’15 described Bodurtha as a light-hearted addition to the group, someone who comes to practices ready to have fun.
“She’ll come up with fun dances just to make us laugh,” Onufrey said. “She’s always encouraging us, making us feel really good about ourselves. She’s always so humble about her talents.”
Rory Page ’16, another member of the Dodecaphonics, said that though Bodurtha stands out as a soloist, she has no problem adjusting to sing background parts in other songs.
“[Bodurtha’s] got a big personality,” Page said. “In practices, she’s definitely not afraid to let it fly, in the sense that she creates a relaxed atmosphere. She breaks things down.”
Bodurtha is an Arabic major at the College, and her interests span Middle Eastern politics, computer science and the arts. Yet she hopes to pursue more arts classes in the future, especially theater and acting classes.
“I think I realized that I put arts second to other academic pursuits,” Bodurtha said. “I should put more focus and devote more energy and time to singing, which is something that makes me really happy.”
This term she will take voice lessons and intern at a law firm in New York City.
Tanya Budler ’15, close friends with Bodurtha since freshman trips, said Bodurtha connects her audience to the emotional core of the music that she sings.
“I’ve seen her grow to the point where she brings people to tears with her singing,” Budler said. “She’s never lost herself at Dartmouth — she’s just reaffirmed herself here.”
The Final Word with Phoebe Bodurtha '15
Favorite food on campus: Collis quiche and King Arthur Flour baked goods.
The most played song on my iPod: “All of Me” by John Legend.
If I could travel back in time, I’d like to meet: Benjamin Franklin.
The article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction appended: March 26, 2014
The original version of this article said that Bodurtha dances in Fusion Dance Ensemble, but she left the groupher sophomore year. The story has been revised to correct the error.
