What Judy Garland Inspired

When I was four years old, my parents took me to see The Wizard of Oz at a movie theatre. I remember being transfixed by the young Judy Garland singing “Over the Rainbow.” Even at that young age, I realized that singing was what I wanted most to do!

Thus, when I was five years old, my mother signed me up for Pre-choir at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Our teacher, Mrs. Pickering, taught us the rudiments of choral singing when we were in kindergarten and first grades. At age seven, I progressed to the Cecelian Choir, which covered second through sixth grades, and was taught by Mrs. Huey.

At that time, Howard Swan was the Music Director at PPC, as well as the choral conductor at Occidental College.  He organized large-scale pageants for Christmas and Easter in which the Cecelian Choir, the Boys’ Choir, the Crusader Choir (Jr. High and High School) and the Kirk Choir (adults) all participated. These were thrilling for me because they involved multiple choirs singing intricate music from various points in the sanctuary (somewhat like St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, or Westminster Abbey in London).  I was hooked!​

Jill Anderson, 4 years old when she first saw Wizard of Oz

In her choir robe at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, age 9 or 10

At Pomona College I participated in the College Choir under William Russell, which performed great choral masterworks with orchestra, as well as with the Glee Club, which went on tour over semester break. Although my vocal studies veered into opera and musical theatre during graduate school at USC, I always retained a great love of choral music. After graduate school, I joined the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Roger Wagner, and sang for six years with this esteemed chorale before moving to San Luis Obispo in 1983.  

Although the major thrust of my musical career in San Luis Obispo concentrated on opera (Pacific Repertory Opera, now Opera SLO), I have continued to participate in multiple local choral groups including Vocal Arts Ensemble, SLO Master Chorale and the Mozart Festival Chorus. Founding and co-conducting Canzona Women’s Ensemble with Cricket, has been a most rewarding and appropriate “retirement project,” and brings me back to my roots -- the seeds of which were sown so many years ago!

~ Jill Anderson, Co-Artistic Director