Leaving a Legacy of Music

This is my mom, Joyce (Reatherford) Pinckney. She was what I always used to call a "Professional tough act to follow." I'll get the sad news out of the way first. She passed away last month, and I miss her like crazy.

But now for the good news. She remains a touchstone for everything I want to accomplish in the world. She exemplified the love of music that I want to inspire in my students and my audiences, and her celebration of life "party" was evidence of all the lives she touched; all the people who loved her, whether they'd known her for only a few months, or since they were 5 years old.

I remember the students coming and going from our house, always thrilled with the new songs that Mom assigned for them to learn - especially when she started writing teaching music for them (and ultimately, publishing it)! One of her former students, now grown, even went home during the party, only to come back with a stack of her music that he played to entertain the party-goers. I can only hope that one day my students remember me with such fondness.

I am so lucky to have had Joyce as my mom. She was always supportive of my dreams, and her encouragement to keep up with the piano as well as singing lessons has made me a musician that people want to work with, and has enabled me to add beginning piano lessons to my teaching practice. She came to all my shows, even when the bands I sang with played at pretty rough bars, and clapped and danced and sang along. Her shouts of "SEVEN MORE!" when it came time for an encore echo in my head.

The JPJQ album project has been momentarily put on hold, since I can't feel that it's completed until I've recorded a few of her original pieces and one or two of her favorites to put on the record. I'm not quite sure how we'll afford it, but I'm toying with the idea of a crowd funding campaign - so stay tuned with your wallets handy!

Our new teaching studio is open and ready to accept new students in Portland, and I'm excited to introduce my Mom's music to a new nation of piano students!

As Joyce's promotional material stated, Making Music is a Joy Forever. And the legacy of Mom's joy in (and through) music will be with me for the rest of my life, and hopefully after.