Making Music Together, Encouraging Others, Finding Joy: Julie Sooy
A brief portrait of a friend and Holland musician
A few months ago, I wrote a remembrance for a musician friend of mine from Holland who had recently died.
I wrote this mostly for myself, to put my thoughts into words, to remember and memorialize him, and to share what I thought was special about him with others. I was gratified that it resonated with many who also knew Steve. So I’d like to take this column to remember another fine musician of Holland who is gone from us much too soon.
(after an AGO event featuring the organ in chamber music. Julie is in the yellow vest in front, and Steve is behind her)
Julie Sooy was an educator, a performing musician who played the flute and conducted ensembles. She was also an encourager, someone full of life and joy. I can’t remember how or where I first met Julie. Perhaps it was at Hope College, where she was teaching when we first arrived in town, and I worked as an accompanist in the music department. I think I remember when she began to attend Hope Church – I believe she and her musician husband Eric came up front after a service to compliment me on the music. This seems likely, because she was so good at reaching out to other musicians. I know that soon after, she became one of my regular collaborators. I loved playing with Julie because she was always up for anything: prelude music at church on a Sunday morning, a concert, playing with our choir (a couple of times I even had anthems with flute and percussion, and it was a special treat to have both Julie and Eric accompanying my choir!)
(Julie and I with Anna Worbois after an Advent concert at Hope Church)
Julie directed the West Michigan Flute Orchestra, an amazing ensemble consisting of about 50 flutes of all sizes and ranges, from piccolos all the way down to bass flutes so large that they need to be rested on the floor to be played, with a bell that curves around like a saxophone. She reached out once to ask if I knew of any pieces written for organ and flute choir. A composer friend of mine agreed to write a piece for us and it was a lot of fun to play with this ensemble, under her direction. Julie performed with me once on the concert series at Trinity Lutheran in Grand Rapids, and often on my regular Hope Church concerts. I would frequently buy music for flute and organ with Julie in mind, knowing that she would be willing to try anything I put in front of her, and most of this we eventually played in church or in a concert. I never heard her tell me that a certain piece I’d found was too weird, too hard, or not her thing. A special memory I have is that when she played with us in worship services at Hope Church, Julie would improvise a descant for the hymns, making up on the spot a melody over the top of what was being played and sung, in response to the text, or mood of the hymn.
(Julie and I with Greg, after our concert at Trinity Lutheran in GR)
Julie was resourceful – as her life shifted and changed, she was able to move forward with an energy and flexibility that I envied. When a number of doors closed for her in the music world, she found a new career midlife, advising and counseling through Michigan Works, using many of the skills she’d honed in her years as a music teacher and college advisor to encourage and support the clients she worked with there, helping them find new careers. And she kept on being involved in music in her own ways – playing with us at Hope Church, teaching privately, and directing and leading the West Michigan Flute Orchestra, where she often reached out to form creative collaborations with other area musicians and ensembles, like the Holland Chorale. The last time I saw her, she was in the audience at a performance of her beloved Flute Orchestra at Hope Church. She’d planned on directing this concert, which she had chosen all the music for, and rehearsed, and was too weak at the end to do so, but clearly wanted to be there to support her musicians. Julie was adjusting still, reckoning with what she couldn’t do, while still embracing the people and music she loved.
(Julie to my right, after a fun chamber music concert at Hope church, with lots of our friends involved)
I wrote a column in the last year about musicians who play well with others. Julie was without a doubt one of those people. She clearly derived joy from collaborating with others, from working together, from encouraging others. Many folks have reached out to me after her passing, knowing that we played together often, to tell me how she touched their lives. She leaves a hole, and she also inspires me with her openness, her delight in making music together, and her tenacity in holding on to what mattered to her, despite everything life threw at her. Her family has suggested we donate to Ottawa County parks in her memory. Julie found balm, not only in music, but also in being outdoors. Take a walk or bike ride in the woods this week, work in your garden, feed the birds, listen to music that brings you joy, and remember her.
(my thanks to Julie’s good friend Jen Wolfe, who read this for me and added a few very Julie-like details to the final piece. I’d also love to hear your stories of Julie - email or message me to share.)