Nancy Plummer Faxon, Classical Composer, 90

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Nancy Faxon, who wrote primarily liturgical music, died of leukemia on
Tuesday, February 1 2005, at New England Baptist Hospital, at the age
of 90.

Nancy Plummer Faxon was a fastidious composer who deftly juggled
classical commissions with the demands of family life.

"She didn't trust copyists," Emily Faxon Gallo of Cornwall-on-Hudson,
New York, said of her mother. "So she was often up until the wee hours
of the morning with a green eyeshade on, copying music for the
ensembles that would perform it."

She created her compositions by plunking away at two baby grand pianos
in her home in Chestnut Hill. Many of her works were commissioned by
her husband, George, an organist, teacher, and choirmaster.

"All of the pieces she wrote were commissioned," Gallo said, which
meant that she knew who was going to perform the pieces before she
wrote them and was always working on deadline.

She wrote choral pieces, works for organ, and many works for brass
ensembles.

"She particularly liked the harp," said her son, Warren of Chestnut
Hill.

Many of Mrs. Faxon's works were collected on a CD recorded by the Ralph
Farris Chorale and the Madison Symphony. She was also a soprano soloist
with the professional choir at Trinity Church in Boston from 1955 to
1980.

Juggling a career as a soprano while raising three children, Mrs. Faxon
often scrambled to complete her commissions on time. In one instance,
she did not realize she had a piece due until she read an announcement
of the upcoming premiere.

On another occasion, her husband noticed that she was up until 2 a.m.
working on a composition. Their daughter, a violinist, was awake and
practicing at 4 a.m. Mr. Faxon suggested that their other daughter, who
was studying flute, begin practicing at 2 a.m. so they would have music
in the house 24 hours a day.

The daughter of a banker, Mrs. Faxon was born in Jackson, Miss. She
graduated in 1936 from Millsaps College, which was within walking
distance of her home. Among her acquaintances was the writer Eudora
Welty, with whom she performed in community theater productions.

Mrs. Faxon, who also earned master's degrees in piano and voice at
Chicago Musical College, never quite lost her Southern accent, though
its became less pronounced over the years. "But it could thicken up at
times," Gallo said.

She met her future husband at a church conference in Wellesley. He
wasted no time in proposing. She accepted and returned to Jackson to
announce her engagement. When her family asked how long she had known
her betrothed, her answer was "three days." Their marriage lasted for
50 years, until Mr. Faxon's death in 1992.

In addition to her son and daughter, Mrs. Faxon leaves a daughter,
Nancy Golowka of Turners Falls, Massachusetts; and two grandchildren.

Boston Globe

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