Last night I found out that a high school classmate, Tina Marsh, passed away a few weeks ago from breast cancer. She was 55 years old. Click on the title to read her remarkable, incredible obituary. Although we moved in different circles I did sing with Tina in our high school choir. I remember Tina as our "It Girl", our Diva, the girl who seemed to have it all, whose bold, vibrant, creative personality just seemed to fill a room and embrace everyone in it. She was involved in everything from choir to pom-pom dance team to student government to homecoming queen. Her performances in our many plays and musicals were unforgettable. What an awesome beautiful voice she had! Even then she had star power. The last I heard of her was a few months after we graduated. Someone told me that Tina had been cast in the lead role in her college musical and had taken the campus by storm, something unheard of for a freshman. That was no surprise to us. We knew she would be a star some day.
Years went by, 37 to be exact, and I never heard anything more until I got the message that she had passed away. I had no idea that she was in Austin all this time, writing and performing and becoming a powerful creative force in that music community. I did a Google search and found all kinds of information about her and the Creative Opportunity Orchestra she founded and all the community outreach she had done. I went to her website and was able to hear excerpts from some of her CDs. My favorite is Inside Breaking. If anyone reading this is from the Winston Churchill High School, Potomac Maryland, Class of 1972, I recommend you listen to it especially the track "Who Knows Where or When." It is guaranteed to bring back memories of Tina performing in our school musicals. As for me, I have ordered her CD Inside Breaking and can't wait to share it with my family and friends. Tina Marsh used her gift of music to bring people together. From everything I read about her I sensed that for her it was never about money or fame. It was about creative freedom and about community, most especially her beloved community of Austin. But now I think it is time for Austin to share her with the rest of the world because Lord knows we could really use her message of community through music right about now. Check out http://www.creop.org/ to hear her music and order CDs. Share them with everyone you know so we can spread Tina's message far and wide. Somehow I think she would approve.
Go in peace Tina and thanks for sharing your gifts with us and leaving behind a wonderful legacy. Thanks for all the great high school memories. My condolences to all your friends and family and my prayers are with them all. I know that the Austin music community will continue the good work that you started there and that it will spread far and wide. Somehow I think you will be there every time the Creative Opportunity Orchestra performs and that they will feel your presence as they continue the work you started. Rest now, knowing that yours was a job well done. Godspeed!
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