She is a harpist and teacher born Judith Ann
Leatherman in Goshen, Indiana. She studied at the Curtis Institute of Music
and the Salzedo Harp Colony in Maine, where she would be Carlos Salzedos
assistant in the Salzedo Harp Ensemble in 1957.In 1959 she became the principal harp at the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra and until 2002 she would tour and record with them and
have the piece "Concerto" written for her by John Weinzweig.Remaining with this orchestra for many years she was also
a guest soloist with orchestras that included the Edmonton Symphony
Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra.Making many recordings, some of
which feature her own arrangements and transcriptions, her album of the
premiere of R. Murray Schafer's Crown of Ariadne, where she played
both the harp and percussion, won her a Juno Award for Best Classical Album
in 1979.As a teacher she is
on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of
Toronto and established a summer school for harpists. In competitions she
has been an adjudicator at the Israel International Harp Competition, the
USA International Harp Competition and the American Harp Society's annual
composition competition.She
is also on the board of the World Harp Congress since 1985.
