ABSTRACT
I think it must have been in about 1976 that I first heard Cathy live. She was appearing at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam performing her groundbreaking recital, From Monteverdi to the Beatles. It was a memorable evening and she was both brilliant and hilarious. A couple of years later, in 1978, I had my first chance to work with her personally when I was a voice student specializing in medieval music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland. My teacher, the incredible Andrea von Ramm, had invited Cathy to teach a masterclass to her voice students. Though the singers were all specializing in early music, Cathy was, of course, open to any repertoire they brought in. One of the strongest memories I have of that experience regards her advice to a classical singer (my good friend and colleague, Laurie Monahan) who was attempting the Cole Porter classic,“I Get a Kick Out of You,” a genre which at that time Laurie frankly didn’t know much about. This proved to be a golden occasion for Cathy to drive home one of her most strongly held beliefs: whenever you take on any new style, listen to the greats. She believed that singers needed to show humility and willingness to learn from the masters when approaching any unfamiliar style. (By the same token, she expected humility from others in areas where she justly considered herself a master. She was certainly not one to exhibit false modesty!)
