High Country Loses Artist, Composer TUI ST. GEORGE TUCKER 1924-2004 By Jay Brown Tui St. George Tucker, the great American composer, died Wednesday morning, April 21st. For those of us who knew her, the date marked the end of an era. Born in California in 1924, Tui was named after a species of bird native to New Zealand, where her mother was born. In 1946 she moved to New York, where she became renowned as a composer, conductor, and virtuoso of the recorder. Tui pioneered a unique style of composition often referred to as “microtonal.” Her works frequently used quartertones, that is, the tones in between the notes of a piano keyboard. To achieve this end, Tui composed on two pianos—one of which would have been tuned down a quartertone. Listening to an anthology of the music of St. George Tucker, a person may at times have the impression he is hearing the work of a pre-Baroque master, a contemporary of Stravinsky, an innovator from the Be-Bop era, or a being from outer space. But all of her work is rooted in a profound understanding and deep love for music. Tui saw the Blue Ridge Mountain for the first time in the summer of 1946 when she visited her dear friend, the poet Vera Lachmann. Vera had escaped Nazi Germany, and in 1944 she founded the Camp Catawba for Boys, located near the Blue Ridge Parkway on the Boone side of Blowing Rock. Beginning in 1947, Tui spent her summers as the camp’s music director. Imagine Beethoven as a summer camp instructor and you have some idea of what the young boys of Camp Catawba were up against. With fiery red hair and an explosive temper that coincided with her Dionysian lust for life, Tui seared an enduring impression on the campers. The children were often elevated to musical greatness, performing such works as Bach’s Magnificat, and Handel’s Messiah, and even performing at New York’s Town Hall. At least two-dozen of the boys from Camp Catawba have gone on to become professional musicians. Camp Catawba lasted until 1970. In 1985 Tui returned to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Camp Catawba, where she continued to compose, and also to conduct the Springhouse Farm Choir of Valle Crucis. Recently Tui was featured in the Appalachian State University concert series An Evening of Women Composers and also in the North Carolina Composers series. In her twilight years she continued to be an inspiration and mentored many musicians including Lazybirds. Her deeply spiritual nature and unique poetic way of speaking will be warmly remembered by all who burned the midnight candle with her, shared music with her, caught hell from her, and learned from her. Tui St. George Tucker will be missed. Plans are underway at the Appalachian State University School of Music for a performance of Tui St. George Tucker’s “Requiem” which was composed for her mother.