Joyce Kouffman: A joyous journey

May 21, 2025

“When we listen to music, we are carried along by the artist’s experience with multi-dimensional currents and energies. Temporarily entering a different dimension can be as simple as putting on a recording of a favorite piece of music and moving along with it….”

So wrote Joyce Kouffman in her Point Reyes Light guest column on Jan. 17, 2024. That essay beckoned to people to explore the transformative power of music, be it listening or playing, practicing or composing, and in her case, teaching. Joyce’s title for the essay? “Entering other dimensions and choosing to visit there often.”

Joyce chose to visit other dimensions often and deeply. Now she has entered the ultimate “other dimension”—with the same gusto and insight that characterized her music and her life. After a years-long journey with cancer, Joyce passed away, in a state of ease and grace, on the full moon on May 12. She was 70 years old.

One way that Joyce navigated her unique health journey of more than five years was through privacy. She made choices according to her own values and sensibilities, focusing her energies on being present and cultivating beauty. This precluded sharing her medical story with people for whom she cared greatly.

Joyce knew herself well. She understood her own true vocation—bringing more music into the world. Joyce’s mentor at Harvard, the renowned pianist and music professor Luise Vosgerchian, had character phrases for some of her students; Joyce’s was “Still waters run deep.” Stillness and depth were how Joyce tapped into beauty and the music that was her life practice.

Before and after arriving in West Marin in the 1980s, Joyce’s focus was on sharing music. Her circles of creativity and collaboration included her students as they explored technique, music theory, performance and composing (and the many instruments and styles that Joyce played and taught). They included the artists with whom she collaborated: musicians, poets, painters and teachers. And they included the many people who attended Geography of Hope conferences in Point Reyes Station, where she played at great assemblies; those who participated in her bold, inclusive multi-arts festivals at Toby’s Feed Barn; and those who attended concerts she gave at the Dance Palace and other venues.

Joyce lived a luminous life thanks to a strong will, for she had challenges to transcend. She grew up in Brookline, Mass., learning to play classical cello. Further into her studies she was embraced by great teachers (like Professor Vosgerchian at Harvard), met by fellow students (including Yo-Yo Ma), inspired by divines (Aretha Franklin), and beckoned into many avenues for her talent (African drum study in Senegal, jazz drum study with Alan Dawson). She created unique collaborations, including with jazz legend Illinois Jacquet at Harvard, pianist and composer Mary Watkins in the Bay Area, and Maryland’s poet laureate Linda Pastan. More of Joyce’s biography can be found at joycejazz.com

Joyce’s daily life centered on morning practice, usually with her acoustic guitar. If she woke up hearing music that she wanted to bring forth, she would stay in its spell for hours, playing in deep concentration, and sometimes composing. For Joyce, this level of immersion was the essence of “entering other dimensions and choosing to visit there often.”

Yet her music was much more than an individual’s vocation or pastime. Joyce knew that music and creativity, enjoyed collectively, are world changing. Often saying that “music produces joy and promotes peace,” she was clear that music, dance and artmaking in community are essential for a healthy, compassionate society.

Like many people familiar with West Marin, Joyce was in love with nature and often sought intimacy with water, sky and earth. Her favorite “church” was North Beach. Joyce spent measureless time there, parked in her beloved minivan with the windows open, gazing at the blue ocean, surf and sky. She would dream, play guitar, make drawings, write poems, write music, call students. Or just behold the sea, in bliss.

Still waters run deep: a fitting metaphor. Joyce loved water, she loved rowing her skiff or paddling a kayak. She would occasionally devote a whole day to contemplative practice on a Tomales Bay beach, witnessing the tide cycle. Her departure from this life was gentle and fluid, like a skiff floating into a stream to join a timeless current.

Do not feel sad for Joyce. She knew exactly what she was doing through the span of time when she focused her attention on staying healthy. And she succeeded. She flourished in art and spirit and was hale and happy all the way to her departure from this earthly plane. Her timing and style for that journey were beautiful and magical. She knew where she was headed, and she was glad! This was an immeasurable gift to those of us admitted into her confidence and company (which now includes you).

To celebrate Joyce’s life and spirit there will be an informal gathering at North Beach, date and time to be announced. For now, if you miss Joyce or seek solace, consider going out to North Beach for a spell. Or put on some music and dance.

Claire Peaslee is a writer and naturalist who lives in Point Reyes Station and for many years shared a home with Joyce Kouffman.

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