Judith Ann Cloud Obituary, NAU’s Kitt School Of Music Professor Emerita Away From Cancer.

Judith Ann Cloud Obituary, Death – The death of Judy Ann Cloud, a beloved NAU voice professor, choral conductor, and composer, from metastatic breast cancer, occurred at her home on August 4, 2023. She was 69 years old. When it came to Cloud, music was everything. Isabel (Inky) Blackburn Cloud and Russell Cloud welcomed their first of five daughters into the world on July 21, 1954. After relocating to Tryon, North Carolina, she began singing in the church choir, where her first musical mentor, Dr. Ruth Graham, introduced her to composers like Bach and Britten.

During her time at Tryon High School, Judy was an active member of the flute and choral music programs as well as the women’s basketball and golf teams. She made the decision to become a professional singer because of her stunning mezzo-soprano voice. At the School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Cloud began her formal music study, focusing on voice, conducting, and composing. Janice Harsanyi, an advocate for 20th-century American composers and a budding composer in her own right, provided vocal training. In 1980 and 1984, she got her Master’s and Doctorate in Music from Florida State University, where she had previously studied with her voice teacher. At FSU, she sang in a number of operas and recitals.

Before moving to Indiana State University in 1984, she taught at Florida Community College in Jacksonville. In 1989, she became a member of the NAU music faculty, teaching voice. She was recognized as the College of Fine Arts’ 2004 “Teacher of the Year” for her ability to motivate students via both her teaching and compositional skills. After Cloud retires in the year 2020, she will be given the honorary title of “Professor Emerita.” Her beautiful and inventive works for voice and instruments will carry on her distinguished history as a performer and educator. Dr. Cloud frequently took the stage with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra as a soloist.

Cloud was a famous composer who wrote in a wide variety of genres, such as art song, vocal chamber, instrumental chamber, choral, orchestral, and opera. Both the BIS and Summit Records labels feature her pieces. Judy’s loved ones and friends will miss her greatly. Her influence on her pupils lives on. Survivors include her wife, trumpeter Cindy Gould, who provided loving care throughout Judy’s illness; sisters Jeanne Cloud Perrone (Bob), Kathy Cloud Baum (Lantz), Ruthie Cloud McBurney, Carol Cloud Rowell; nieces and nephews Katie Perrone Hatcher (Kris), Rob Perrone, Lantz Russell Baum (Amanda), Wil McBurney II (Alyssa), Jessie McBurney Drudy (Patrick), Chloe Rowell Lanham (Timothy); and six grand-nieces and nephews.

Her parents, Russell and Inky (Blackburn) Cloud, passed away before she was born. The family would like to express their gratitude to the medical staff at FMC and Eye Care Associates, as well as the nurses and doctors at Northern Arizona Hospice, who provided excellent care and counsel. A memorial service will be held at Kitt Recital Hall at NAU on Sunday, September 24 at 3:00pm, and the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra will perform an orchestral work including a clarinet soloist on Friday, September 29 at 7:30pm. The NAU Foundation is setting up a Judith Cloud Memorial Fund in her honor. More information will be released later.