Composer Judith Cloud’s gift for vocal writing originates out of her own rich experiences as an accomplished mezzo–soprano soloist. Performing throughout the United States, Cloud premiered many new works by young composers as well as her own music. Highlights of her performing career include a performance of the Brahms Neueliebeslieder Waltzer with the acclaimed radio program Saint Paul Sunday Morning, as well as being the soloist for the American premier performance of Michael Tippett's A Child of Our Time with the Winston-Salem Symphony. She still remains active as a mezzo soprano, performing as a recitalist and soloist.
Cloud first began composing for the voice in 1974, and her catalogue of solo vocal works attests to her growing reputation as a “singer-friendly” composer. Her complete oeuvre features many choral pieces, most notably Feet of Jesus, a cantata for chorus, soprano saxophone, soprano and baritone soloists and organ set to poems of Langston Hughes recorded with the BIS label on a CD entitled “Spirituals,” released in 1997 by the Saint Jacob’s Chamber Choir and directed by Gary Graden. She has also composed works in a wide range of other genres, including a concerto for soprano saxophone and orchestra and a woodwind quintet Six Stories by Italian Children, a featured work performed by Kokopelli Wind Quintet at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Provo, Utah in July of 2008.
Other recordings include the soon to be released “(In)habitation: Settings of Margaret Atwood Poetry by American Women Composers” by the Strempel-Beaudette duo, with her cycle Night Dreams included with works by some of the top female composers of our time. The recently released Clarion recording “First Day,” by the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Linda Mack, conductor includes Words From An Artist’s Palette and Spell Against Sorrow.
Cloud was an honored composer in residence with the noted “Escape to Create” program sponsored by the Seaside Institute in Seaside, FL for two seasons.
Current projects include songs to poetry by Kathleen Raine, as well as a work for chorus and guitar, Anacreontics, commissioned by conductor Robert Cowles and The Hobart and William Smith Colleges vocal ensemble Cantori. She is the recipient of the Sorel Medallion, a composition contest for women composers, with a concert in Carnegie Hall featuring her winning composition, Mesa Songs.
Dr. Cloud received vocal performance degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts, and Florida State University. Her first composition lessons were with Robert Ward, who advised her to keep singing—but to keep writing music, too. She has been a member of the music faculty for The North Carolina School of the Arts, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, and Indiana State University. She is currently Coordinator of Voice at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where she teaches studio voice, vocal pedagogy and graduate composition. Inspiring students with her teaching as well as her compositional talents, she was awarded “Teacher of the Year” for the College of Fine Arts in 2004.
The Composer is a member in good standing with ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.)