Donor spotlight: Scholarship honors the legacy of Mary Ramsour
It took time for Mary Ramsour to follow her dreams.
Ramsour (BM 94, MM 97) earned degrees in voice performance and vocal pedagogy from CU Boulder and went on to found an opera companyLyric Artists of the Westthat produced performances of scenes from various operas, inclusive of non-traditional artists like herself; lead a church music program; and make creative expression a central pillar in her life.
The College of Music wasnt her first academic destination, however, and the career she pursued so passionately泭 from breast cancer in 2019 came after shed already spent nearly a decade as a successful attorney. Music called to Ramsour from an early age, but she didnt heed the message until later in life.
Mary always had a gorgeous voice and she absolutely loved singing, recalls Joanie Andrews, Ramsours sister. Andrews adds that Ramsour started singing in elementary school, but that their parents insisted she pursue a traditional career; so she earned a law degree from the 勛圖厙 of Denver Sturm College of Law after she completed a bachelors degree from the 勛圖厙 of Northern Colorado.
From there, Ramsours path seemed set. She started her own practice and specialized in family law. She drew clients with her kindness, determination and smarts, carving out a niche representing AIDS patients, a population still largely overlooked in the late 80s. She ultimately moved on to a large law firm in downtown Denver where she specialized in product liability defense.
But Ramsour wasnt happy. The CU Boulder College of Music would offer her a gateway to a much more fulfilling life. She called me up one day and said, I have to talk to youyou cant tell anyone, but Im quitting my job, says John Patchett, Ramsours brother. She said, Im going to do what I always should have doneIm going back to school to study music.
We all thought it was wonderful, Patchett adds. The law was an occupation, but music was her passion and her love.
Once Ramsour made that decision, she couldnt be stopped. She commuted daily to the Boulder campus from Denver and faced the challenges of beginning a new academic path as a non-traditional student, refining her big, Ethel Merman-like voice into a finely honed instrument.
She loved being at the College of Music, says Patchett. She made so many good friendsher peers adored her.
As Director of Music and the Arts at St. James Presbyterian Church in Littleton, Colorado, Ramsour ultimately landed a position that fused her love of music with her deep faith. It was work she pursued passionately until her final days, her unflagging commitment inspiring those who knew and loved her best.
In 2019, David Andrews offered a very special gift to his wife, Joanie. On Christmas morning, she found an envelope under the tree with information inside about a new scholarship that he was establishing in her sisters name.
Mary was very specialshe took the leap from an established career to pursuing her dream. Thats guts. Thats something that doesnt happen very often, says David Andrews, adding that the $5,000 scholarship is designed to encourage other non-traditional voice students to pursue their dreams, too.
Indeed, the Mary Catherine Ramsour Memorial Endowed Voice Scholarship Fund represents a way for Ramsours family, many of whom live outside of Colorado, to continue her legacy at the College of Musicone that reflects her passion, her kindness, her faith and her courage. For Ramsours husband, Bo, and their three daughters, the scholarship fund represents how much she poured her heart and soul into the program, and often was a source of motherly and lawyerly support for the younger students.泭泭
Adds Joanie Andrews, She was a wonderful woman and I think about her every day.
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Mary Ramsour in her own words: (Modern Opera Music Magazine, Vol. IV, 2000)