The Young@Heart mourns the loss of Janice St. Laurence, who passed away Sunday, April 19th of natural causes. Janice came to Young@Heart in 2000 and performed with us until 2013. She was one of the purest musicians that we’ve ever seen in the group. Her rendition of Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love” was enthusiastically received by audiences from Japan to Ireland, Colorado to Montreal, and the Newport Folk Festival, just to name a few.

WATCH Janice St. Laurence sings “Somebody to Love” recorded live in 2003 at the Young@Heart's 21st Anniversary show at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton.

At one of her last performances she sang the Grateful Dead’s “Ripple” at John M. Greene Hall in Northampton. Struggling for the words at the beginning of the song she became stronger and stronger throughout and by the end the audience was on their feet for one of the longest sustained ovations we’ve ever seen for a Y@H performance.

Listen to her performance of “Somebody to Love” from our Mostly Live album here.

She studied both classical and modern music including theory and was an accomplished pianist developing a really great stride piano style. She played for tap and ballroom dance classes starting at age 12 and accompanied choral groups and played trombone and Irish whistle in her high school band. In 1964, she accepted a position as an accompanist at Smith College where she also composed music for dance. She and her husband, a former B-29 pilot, enjoyed flying small planes, doing aerobatics, cross-country flying, and traveling together.

Janice loved her family and they adored her. It’s to them that we extend our deepest sympathies and appreciation for allowing us the time to be able to experience the musical genius of Janice.

Janice sings at a Young@Heart rehearsal with Pat Cady in the background.