Linn Maxwell Keller was indeed an embodiment of Saint Hildegard in both spirit and talent, truly worthy of being her own version of a patron saint of creativity.
Linn Maxwell Keller – An interesting connection
On how I first heard of Linn Maxwell Keller occurred during the spring of 2013 when I was researching Saint Hildegard online in Boulder for my film, The Unruly Mystic: Saint Hildegard. I found out that Linn Maxwell was performing that very next night in Denver at DU, and while I couldn’t see her in concert as I was teaching that night, I called her the next day to introduce myself. You never know how someone will take your call or if they will make themselves available to your requests of filming them. Besides inviting me to Jackson Hole later that year, she opened up a whole new perspective for me on Hildegard’s music and was kind enough to allow me to use clips of her work in my final film. She also introduced me to other people in her community, most notably Dr. Beverly Kienzle who was a professor at Harvard Divinity School at that time. Sadly she passed away, way too soon a couple years after I released my film with her in it.
Remembering Linn Maxwell Keller (Dec 6, 1943 -June 18, 2016)
“On St. Hildegard’s feast day I and many others remember a beloved friend, Linn Maxwell Keller, an internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano. As The Times of London review proclaimed (August 2010) and many of us experienced at her performances, “Hildegard is reborn as mezzo Linn Maxwell”. Linn performed with world-class orchestras, was featured in many international opera companies, and played recital halls across the United States and in twenty-five other countries. On April 19, 2015, Linn performed her play, Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light, to a spellbound audience at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Cambridge, MA. From Boston, she departed for a tour of Australia, performing in several cities. She completed a second play, St. Hildegard: Trumpet of God, also available on CD. Linn and her ensemble,The Hildegard Singers, recorded two CDs of Hildegard’s music: O Greenest Branch: Songs of St. Hildegard of Bingen, and Hildegard of Bingen: Songs from the Abbey. Her other recordings range from opera to cabaret.”*
Linn is deeply missed by all of us who knew her–family, friends, fans, and the communities she supported.
Her work lives online with the interviews and selected scenes from her film, Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light. You can see more about this amazing woman in The Unruly Mystic: Saint Hildegard.
*Thank you to Dr. Beverly Kienzle for this memory.
