Barbara Maier Gustern, the beloved vocal coach to Debbie Harry, Kathleen Hanna and countless others who was senselessly killed earlier this month, was remembered for her 'wild and precious life' at a pair of New York memorials yesterday
Although Gustern’s friends and family are furious about the way the singer died — when 26-year-old Lauren Pazienza allegedly shoved the four-foot-eleven octogenarian to the ground without provocation on March 10, leading to her death five days later — they cherished the joy she spread during her lifetime at the service held at the church where Gustern regularly attended and supportedFor decades, she coached singers who were already famous, including Debbie Harry, Diamanda Galás, and...
The most stunning musical moment, however, came courtesy of Gustern herself and her late husband, Josef, when the church played a tape of them duetting on a song called “Sunday’s Child.” Her voice, a mezzo-soprano, sounded full and round, as it quivered delicately around steep note changes, an impressionistic piano line, and her husband’s deep, bass responses. When the recording ended, the congregation stood for an ovation that lasted nearly a minute.
When A.J. finished, the church’s Mother Anna S. Pearson gave a homily that spoke to Gustern’s generous spirit and unique personality. Quoting poet Mary Oliver, she asked, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Gustern answered that question, Pearson said, by her example. “Always and up to the very end, Barbara was someone who used her powers for good,” she said. “She pulled people into her orbit, and once we were there, we really did not want to leave.
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