Karolyn Coulter
Karolyn Coulter was a gifted singer, voice teacher, and choral director who practiced and promoted the highest standards of vocal music in Los Alamos and northern New Mexico for two decades. As a church choir director she trained her choir to perform the best in sacred music. She volunteered many hundreds of hours as vocal director and coach for the Los Alamos Light Opera, to help raise the quality of the performances of LALO's soloists and choruses to near-professional levels. She also volunteered her time and energies to organize numerous programs of vocal music for community events and organizations. As a voice teacher she possessed exceptional knowledge and understanding of vocal literature and correct vocal technique, and her students routinely won top honors in voice competitions ranging in scope from the local level to the entire southwest region. Perhaps even more important was the way in which she imbued her students with discipline and self-esteem. This inspired many of them to achievements that otherwise would have been unattainable for them. Karolyn's life-long commitment to excellence in vocal music can perhaps best be expressed by a statement that she herself made shortly before her death:
| "I decided many years ago that if I achieved nothing else in my life, I wanted to learn to sing correctly before I died. I believe I have done that." |
Because of Karolyn's many contributions and her caring
spirit, her sudden death in March 2004 was a devasting blow
to all who knew her. Her family and friends felt a great
need both to honor her memory and to continue, in some way,
her ideals of the teaching and presentation of great vocal
music. A decision was made to form the Karolyn Coulter
Memorial Concert Foundation, whose purpose is to provide
support to the Los
Alamos Concert Association for an ongoing series of
Karolyn Coulter Memorial Concerts. The Concert Association
is an ideal partner for this undertaking, because for 60
years it has been an organizer and presenter of classical
musical concerts performed by internationally-recognized
artists. Our joint goal is to bring to Los Alamos vocal
artists of national and international stature who will
provide vocal concerts as part of the Concert Association
concert series, and who will also give master classes in
singing for the benefit of local voice students and
singers. We were extremely fortunate to have been able to
engage mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore to present the first
Karolyn Coulter Memorial Concert and Master Class during the 2005/6
concert season. Further information about the organization
and purpose of the Karolyn Coulter Memorial Concert
Foundation can be found here.
Friends who wish to support these goals of the Foundation and Concert Association may make their contributions payable to "KCMCF" and mail them to:
KCMCF
PO Box 117
Los Alamos, NM 87544