Shelley Jackson Denham, 1950-2013
Sep. 5th, 2013 11:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pondhopLast summer, when I went to the
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Last summer, when I went to the <a href="http://www.h-cmusicfestival.org/>Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival</a> in North Carolina, I was captivated by the beautiful woman turning pages for William Ransom. She had silver hair and wide eyes and she was <em>so engaged</em> with the music -- not histrionically or showtastically or in any way in the way of the performance, yet vibrantly, fully present.
I was introduced to her at a reception after the concert, but with our first names only, so several minutes went by before the clues added up and I realized I was talking to a woman whose hymns I'd sung many times. At which point I fear I went into stammering fangirl mode, but she handled that graciously, of course.
Last night -- at the end of chamber choir rehearsal -- I learned that Shelley's husband <a href="http://www.carter-cousins.org/documents/denham_ian.pdf">had passed away in May</a>, and that she died on Sunday of a heart attack.
I have <em>Singing the Living Tradition</em> open at the moment to #86:
<blockquote>
Spirit of great mystery,
hear the still, small voice in me.
Help me live my wordless creed
as I comfort those in need.
Fill me with compassion,
be the source of my intuition.
Then, when life is done for me,
let love be my legacy.
--Shelley Jackson Denham, 1987</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: smaller;">This entry was originally posted at <a href = "http://zirconium.dreamwidth.org/63717.html">http://zirconium.dreamwidth.org/63717.html</a>.
I was introduced to her at a reception after the concert, but with our first names only, so several minutes went by before the clues added up and I realized I was talking to a woman whose hymns I'd sung many times. At which point I fear I went into stammering fangirl mode, but she handled that graciously, of course.
Last night -- at the end of chamber choir rehearsal -- I learned that Shelley's husband <a href="http://www.carter-cousins.org/documents/denham_ian.pdf">had passed away in May</a>, and that she died on Sunday of a heart attack.
I have <em>Singing the Living Tradition</em> open at the moment to #86:
<blockquote>
Spirit of great mystery,
hear the still, small voice in me.
Help me live my wordless creed
as I comfort those in need.
Fill me with compassion,
be the source of my intuition.
Then, when life is done for me,
let love be my legacy.
--Shelley Jackson Denham, 1987</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: smaller;">This entry was originally posted at <a href = "http://zirconium.dreamwidth.org/63717.html">http://zirconium.dreamwidth.org/63717.html</a>.