News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Angey Murray Date: 7/5/05   Click on image for publication quality photo  JUDY COLLINS TAKES TO COLUMBIA THEATRE STAGE JULY 16        HAMMOND -- Hailed as one of the major interpretive folksingers of the 1960s with a pure, sweet soprano voice, Judy Collins has thrilled audiences worldwide for more than 40 years with her unique blend of interpretative folksongs and contemporary themes. On July 16, she will bring her music of hope and healing that speaks to the heart to Southeastern Louisiana University's Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.        Curtain time at the historic downtown Hammond theater is 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the Columbia box office, 220 E. Thomas Street, 985-543-4371. Ticket prices are $35, Orchestra 1 and Loge; $30, Orchestra 2 and Balcony 1; $24, Orchestra 3 and Balcony 2. Box office hours are noon-5 p.m., weekdays. Tickets are also available online through ticketweb.com.        Collins’ career began at the age of 13 when she made her public classic piano debut performing Mozart's “Concerto for Two Pianos.” However, her love of lyrics was soon recognized through the music of artists such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, as well as the songs of the folk revival. Soon Collins began what would become her lifelong love with the guitar. In 1961, at age 22, she released her first album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow.        No stranger to the Grammy scene, Collins’ rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” in 1967 has since been entered into the Grammy’s Hall of Fame. In 1975, one of Collins’ best known and loved songs, “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical “A Little Night Music,” earned “Song of the Year.”         In September 2003, Collins released her first book, Sanity and Grace, A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength. Called by Publisher’s Weekly a “frank and revealing personal work that should resonate with readers who have suffered a similar loss,” the moving memoir, focuses on the death of her only son, age 33, and the healing process following his suicide. In the depths of her suffering, Collins claims to have found relief by reaching out to others for help and support and focused the book to extend her hand to comfort  other survivors. Collins also wrote a ballad about her tragedy, “Wings of Angels,” which is recorded on both her Wildflower Festival CD and DVD.         In May, Collins released her first studio album in eight years, Portraits of an American Girl.        For additional information about the concert and other events at the Columbia Theatre, contact the theater office, 985-543-4366, or visit www.columbiatheatre.org.