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Rachel Bissex A beacon of light: Dec. 27, 1956 – Feb. 20, 2005



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Published: February 25, 2005

Vermont lost one of its true beacons of light over the weekend. On Sunday morning, Rachel Bissex died after a long battle with cancer – she was 48.

Rachel was a singer-songwriter, one of Vermont's most successful. She was also an actress, director and a community arts organizer. She was a wife and mother. But, perhaps, most importantly, she was a friend – to her family, to her fellow artists and to her community.

I first met Rachel nearly 20 years ago when I began writing for The Times Argus. I was immediately attracted by her charm, her warmth, and her incredibly personal music. She was a singer-songwriter looking for publicity – not just for herself, but all the other singer-songwriters as well.

It was at about the same time when I first met playwright Stephen Goldberg, when he presented one of his black comedies at Montpelier's Pyralisk. I was bowled over by his understanding of the dark side of human nature, his ability to see the humor in it – and his desire to have hope for his unhappy characters.

Several years later, I found out that Rachel and Steve were married. At first, this seemed incongruous, but then obvious. For they both had a love for freedom of creativity – and an unconditional love for humanity.

Rachel's music, perhaps more than any other Vermont singer-songwriter, is a direct expression of who she was. Poignantly, her last album, "In White Light," reflected her battle with cancer – not in any self-serving way, but as a celebration of the importance of life.

Rachel grew up in Newton, Mass., where her mother bought her a $35 guitar when she was 13. She attended Johnson State College, where she earned a performing arts degree. It was also where met and fell in love with Steve. After a few more years of travel, including a winter on the island of Saint Croix, Rachel and Steve came back to Vermont and settled permanently in Burlington.

From her home there, Rachel regularly toured to Boston, Texas and Florida, and even performed at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. Rachel was a winner of the coveted Kerrville New Folk songwriting award and the Wildflower Songwriting Contest. She was a finalist at the Telluride Troubadour contest, and she received an honorable mention from the Billboard Song competition – all in 2001.

But it was her activities in Vermont that were of importance to us. In addition to helping found the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, she created the Burlington Coffeehouse, for more than a decade, central Vermont's home for contemporary folk music. She was always giving her fellow performers a boost.

Rachel worked right up until the end. She has a leading role in Nora Jacobson's new film "Nothing Like Dreaming." In November 2004, she directed Steve's searing human satire, "Sun Spot: The Crime of the Need to Be Right," in Montpelier and Burlington. And on Dec. 31, while covering up the strain of her cancer, she performed with friends Patti Casey and Colin McCaffrey at First Night Montpelier – with her usual power and flair for touching her audiences.

If that weren't enough, later that night, Rachel was joined by the Vermont Youth Orchestra at the Flynn Center for First Night Burlington.

Rachel wasn't about to leave her message undelivered. But her message will continue to be heard – through her five albums, through her family and through her musical colleagues.

In her program notes for "Sun Spot," Rachel said, "I have lived my life for music and art, and have never regretted a moment of it."

But, the truth is that Rachel lived her life for us.

Jim Lowe



A scholarship fund has been established for Rachel's children Emma and Matt. Checks should be made payable to Bissex College Fund #01827674, and sent to: Merchants Bank, 164 College St., Burlington, VT 05401.





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Friends remember
What can anyone say at this time that isn't in some way trite? … I'm so sorry to hear the crushing news. The music community, "our" music community has lost a singer-songwriter hero. Rachel was a goddess in her right. She was the sweetest, funniest, sexiest, singer I ever heard. She was so humble about it too. I loved the way she could work a crowd and deliver a message. All I know is Rachel's in Heaven with Big Joe (Burrell) now making beautiful music for the gods and goddesses.
Tammy Fletcher, singer
This is just so devastating. She was one of the most loving people I ever knew, both as a person –she made all of us feel like we were incredibly special – and as a performer: Each song she sang was like a gift to each audience member, exquisitely nuanced, phrased and modulated. The only consolation in this tragedy is that she shared her beauty and talent with so many people, as she tirelessly toured the country from state to state playing at festivals, coffee houses and music halls. People have her in their minds, hearts and souls.
Nora Jacobson, filmmaker

My friend Rachel, a folk musician in the truest sense of the word, taught me the importance of generosity with other musicians, not just audiences. At her funeral, her brother told the story of a friend who had thousands of books. The man's house full of books burned down, and the only books that lived on were the ones he had given away. For me, Rachel lives on in her songs and her huge-spirited friendship, which she gave away so effortlessly.
Patti Casey, musician

Rachel was the "Eveready Bunny "of folksingers. She kept popping up unexpectedly in my travels – in Florida, in Texas, all over New England, with a new song – a smile, and her indefatigable kindness. She proved that persistence was the necessary sister to talent, and that is how I will remember her.
lafe (Dutton), musician

Rachel was a singer and a songwriter. She was a musician, a raconteur and a director of theater. Both her left and her right brain worked and if she wanted to make something happen, it happened. But mostly, Rachel was a teacher. She taught us about the importance of music, spirit, equality and consciousness. She led by example, as a person, a parent, a partner and a friend.
As I think back over the past decade or so, to the Burlington Coffee House, the '94 Woman's Celebration on the waterfront, the steps of Montpelier City Hall, her recent CD release party at 135 Pearl, and many other assorted venues, her smile was always there to brighten the day. And on the occasion of her final public performance at First Night Montpelier, she refused to dim. She sang, the audience sang, and surely the angels sang. Rachel's light will shine forever!
Lynne Goodson, radio commentator, friend

Rachel Bissex had pluck. More than 10 years ago in a review of one of her albums in this newspaper I wrote, "This is not a happy album." Rachel's lyrics were not composed of pop music fizz, more introspective, and sometimes unhappy in content. Rather than sulk over a not too positive record review, Rachel incorporated that sentence from my review in promotional material for her recording. I was won over. She was a classy lady, who was undeterred by negativism.
I had not seen her for many years until First Night Montpelier this past December when I caught her late afternoon performance accompanied by Patti Casey and Colin McCaffrey at the Trinity Methodist Church. In rehearsal Rachel had not yet put on the wig which covered her baldness which resulted from the cancer treatment she was receiving. Here she was, a cancer patient who would not let that deter her from bringing her music to her considerable fan base.
Although she coughed from what she said was a cold, her performance was topnotch and there was no indication in her voice or demeanor that she'd be gone in less than two months. I spoke briefly with her after the show and she was upbeat and optimistic about the future.
So, sadly, she is gone. Rachel Bissex was a true performer, a real trooper sharing her musical talents with Vermonters nearly to the end. She will be missed.
Art Edelstein, musician, writer