After years of classical piano and voice lessons, singing in choirs, celtic harp studies and even a stint playing folk guitar, Judith's journey into jazz began in 2001 with a summer Vocal Jazz workshop at Mount Royal College with Viviane Cardinal Martin.  This was followed by several more vocal jazz workshops with Viviane, private lessons with Cheryl Fisher, and a multitude of vocal jazz workshops and masterclasses with brilliant North American vocalists and clinicians including: Meredith D'Ambrosio, Ranee Lee, Jennifer Scott, Kate Hammett-Vaughan, Rita DiGhent, Madeline Eastman, Jay Clayton and Sheila Jordan.  

 

Judith began performing in 2006 at the East Coulee Spring Festival (East Coulee, Alberta) and in 2007, in Calgary, Alberta at Piq Niq, Niko's Bistro and at private functions.  She was a regular performer at McNally Robinson Bookseller's Prairie Ink Cafe in 2008.  After a 2009 move to Edmonton, with the requisite period of time to get to know the city's vibrant music scene, a renewed commitment to vocal jazz resulted in the recording of Judith's first CD, "Here's to Life", a celebration of the journey in all its complexities.

 

Released on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at Jeffrey's Cafe, the CD project began in earnest in the fall of 2012 with a Friday night performance at Jeffrey's Cafe and a Sunday in the recording studio with Andrew Glover, Sandro Dominelli and Wes Caswell.  A year and many lessons and "to-do lists" later, Judith's enthusiasm for singing jazz standards has been tried, tested, and renewed and remains one of her favourite things in life.