Our composing community lost a distinctive voice with the passing of Judith Sainte Croix on January 17, 2018. As a composer and a performer, she bridged the world of New York City with the mountains of the West, and ran from the rivers of the South to the canopy of the rain forest. Utilizing indigenous instruments for many of her works, combining electronic and acoustic sounds and layers of rhythm, her music connected to nature and expressed her own evolving transcendental spirituality. Judith was an inspired educator, a generous collaborator, a great supporter of other composers and musicians, and a true friend.<\/p>\n
Judith was an inspired educator, a generous collaborator, a great supporter of other composers and musicians, and a true friend.<\/div>\n
Our friendship began in the late 1980s, when I, a fellow Mid-Westerner transplanted to New York City, decided it would be a good idea to call all the members of the (then-named) Minnesota Composers Forum who lived in NYC to see who we all were. Judith and I hit it off immediately, having not only a Minnesota connection, but sharing the unique experiences of being female composers.<\/p>\n
It was decided that the one thing we all COULD do was to meet up and share our work with each other, and the Monthly Salon was born. We would gather at a composer\u2019s apartment each month to share music, food, and camaraderie. Judith was one of the most dedicated hosts. There was one famous salon that Judith hosted that coincided with the annual CMA convention. There were many extra composers and performers in town, and everyone wanted to have the opportunity to meet each other. We all crammed into her tiny one-bedroom apartment. There must have been 80 people in there. Many of us sat on the floor, and at one point Judith was standing in the middle of this sea of composers, singing an excerpt of her opera to a recorded accompaniment. It was thrilling and crazy.<\/p>\n
We called each other queen \u2014 she was Queen Judith and I was Queen Kim.<\/div>\n
Eventually the salons tapered off, but Judith and I continued to get together and share our music with each other. These get-togethers always included walks or bike rides along the river, and an evolving philosophical dialogue. We called each other queen \u2014 she was Queen Judith and I was Queen Kim. I don\u2019t know exactly how that started, but it was very much how we felt about one another. About two years ago, as we were discussing our yet-to-be-performed music, she told me that she was working on getting all of her scores in the best shape possible so that they would be ready to play even if she wasn\u2019t around to hear it. Around the same time, she wrote an article outlining her journey as a composer in Musforum<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n