Rebecca, Lisa D., and I went to University of North Carolina-Greensboro in the mid-80s for advanced degrees in Vocal Performance.  We were Yankees and some music students attending UNC-G were leery of us at first.   Three Yankees! A  soprano from Minnesota, a mezzo from Ohio, and a soprano from New York.  The Yankee from New York was the one they were most apprehensive of.   Once Rebecca got to Greensboro she took the music department by storm with her beautiful voice,  sharp intelligence, and witty commentary.   Soon the folks nervous about the Yankee invasion relaxed and realized that we were okay even though we did talk funny.  And Rebecca was FUNNY.  She could get people laughing so hard with one well phrased comment that an entire section in Chorale would start snorting trying to hold their laughter in and end up doubled over with tears.  Unfortunately I was on the other side of Chorale so I could only observe the reactions to her quiet hilarious Chorale comments.  Dang it!  Of course we'd find out what the comment was later but without being in the moment and hearing Rebecca's perfectly timed under-the-breath comment it didn't have the same affect though the person telling us would have a hard time telling us without breaking down again.  Fortunately I was in many classes and a several operas with Rebecca so there I was a closer audience to her talent, intellect, and laugh out loud comments.  In the spring of 1986 we traveled to Philadelphia in one day to audition for the Academy of Vocal Arts  - plane, train, walked to AVA from 30th Street Station, and all that again backwards.  Made it back to Greensboro that same day/night and woke the next morning for a 10 AM opera rehearsal, Offenbach's A Midsummer's Night Dream with Rebecca as Helena and me as Oberon.  Rebecca was the driving force that AVA day!   Thank you Rebecca!  We were thrilled when we both were accepted!  Thank you Charlie Lynam for teaching all three of us Yankees.  We were proud and honored to be in your studio.  

Rebecca created fun and beautiful memories for many!  She will be greatly missed!

And let's not forget her talent in designing and making beautiful jewelry inspired by operatic heroines.   

Rebecca was a true artist in many ways.

I met Rebecca when I was an undergraduate music education major at UNC-Greensboro.  She was an epic force of nature.  I could feel her power...but it wasn't wielded negatively.  She knew what she possessed by the grace of whoever runs this universe, but she was respectful with that power.  I remember when she and Barbara got accepted to AVA.  Wow....it was a huge moment for them both.  I remember classes in the afternoon doing Opera scenes.  We did something by Gian Carlo Menotti in which I took my shirt off, and I was a disaster.  An anxious young wreck...trying to manage my misfit choice of singing opera when I really should have been in the musical theater dept.  She was in the scene, and she was awesome to work with.  In part because of Rebecca and Barbara, I went on to get a Master's of Vocal Performance Degree because I'd found the right teacher for me, and my voice was reaching peaks I couldn't have imagined.  

I didn't want the gypsy life...whether it was opera or musical theater, so I chose to teach public school, and it was exactly where I was meant to be.  

The memories of my time with Rebecca and all of the master's candidates and DMA candidates stick with me still.

She was epically classical in all the ways we love, and I am so sad her light is no longer living here on this earth.  But it lives on in all of the people she touched...

We met singing together in don Giovanni in a Tour of France with Teatro Lirico d’Europa in 1991.

Two months touring throughout the Country by bus, very tiring but lots of fun too!

We clicked and became friends, and when the tour ended we remained in touch for a while, then we lost track for years. 

We reconnected through Facebook and remained in touch until in 2023 she came to see me performing at Glimmerglass Festival, not very far from her home. After 32 years we saw each other and spent a few hours together chatting and laughing about our common past and our current lives.  It was so natural and organic!

When she broke to me the news of her illness 6 weeks ago it was a shock, and I gave her my support until she went into hospice.

Such a beautiful person and soul, she will be VERY missed!