She is a harpist and teacher born Judith Ann Leatherman in Goshen, Indiana. She studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Salzedo Harp Colony in Maine, where she would be Carlos Salzedos assistant in the Salzedo Harp Ensemble in 1957.
In 1959 she became the principal harp at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and until 2002 she would tour and record with them and have the piece “Concerto” written for her by John Weinzweig. Remaining with this orchestra for many years she was also a guest soloist with orchestras that included the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra.
Making many recordings, some of which feature her own arrangements and transcriptions, her album of the premiere of R. Murray Schafer’s Crown of Ariadne, where she played both the harp and percussion, won her a Juno Award for Best Classical Album in 1979.
As a teacher she is on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of Toronto and established a summer school for harpists. In competitions she has been an adjudicator at the Israel International Harp Competition, the USA International Harp Competition and the American Harp Society’s annual composition competition. She has also been on the board of the World Harp Congress since 1985.
In 2015 she received the appointment of a member of the Order of Canada “For her service to the arts community as one of Canada’s renowned harpists.”.
Elias Parish Alvars recordings
Introduction, Cadenza and Rondo
Naxos 8.554347
Harp – Judy Loman
Germaine Tailleferre recordings
Sonata for Harp
Marquis Classics
ERAD 165 (CD: 20th Century Masterworks for Harp)
Sources:
- http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0002094
- http://www.music.utoronto.ca/faculty/faculty_members/instructors_f_to_m/Judy_Loman.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Loman