Judy Coder

Artist Information

Biography

As a professional western singer, yodeler, storyteller, educator and songwriter, Judy Coder wins over audiences with her musical talent and versatility. Wherever she finds herself – a corporate seminar, an elementary school, a Gothic pub in Prague or a concert hall in Kansas – she greets an audience captivated by the quality of her performance.

Judy's impressive vocal range is not only great for the classics, but ideal for cowboy style yodeling. She has received several awards for her yodeling. Her career in western music began when she was named the 1999 Pasty Montana National Yodeling Champion, and it really swung into high gear when she won the title of 2001 Western Music Association (WMA) International Yodeling Champion. In 2008, she was named Yodeler of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists (AWA), and she reclaimed the title of WMA International Yodeling Champion.

Programs include Settling the Great Plains; The Wild, Wild Women of the Wild, Wild West; Real Cowboys and Cowgirls; The Early Days of Kansas; and of course, Patsy Montana: the Cowboy’s Sweetheart. She has twice toured Europe as a solo performer in the Czech Republic and Germany, introducing enthusiastic audiences to the real cowboy in song and story. A third tour is planned in 2012.

In addition to her solo work, Judy is a successful bandleader. For five years, she headlined the award-winning western ensemble, Judy Coder and Pride of the Prairie, and later formed a more feminine group, Judy Coder and Cowgirl Swing.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Judy grew up listening to and studying classical music. She moved to Topeka to study music at Washburn University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in Music Education. While teaching music in the public schools, Judy continued to perform in the classical style, singing an occasional aria with the Topeka Opera Society and Concert Association (TOSCA), and as a frequent lyric soprano soloist with the Topeka Festival Singers. At the urging of her father-in-law, she performed with the Elmont Opry, a church fund raiser. Through this start she became involved in bluegrass and then, after being exposed to the music and yodeling of Patsy Montana, fell in love with western music. As Judy's popularity as a western singer and recording artist grew, Judy decided in 2000 to "give up the day job" and pursue her western music interests full time.

That classical background has brought her full-circle, as an arranger and composer. When Judy Coder and Pride of the Prairie were invited to perform as guests of the Topeka Symphony in 2007, the orchestra read from Judy’s original scores. In addition, her experience in vocal arranging has led her to write some impressive choral works. Several have been performed by local high schools and church groups, as well as the Topeka Festival Singers.

Judy maintains her teaching certifications and provides historical reenactment educational programs worldwide to youth and adults. Judy Coder has released four solo albums of western music and three albums with her great cowboy band. She has released a collection of classical music, and produces albums for other artists upon request. Judy's recordings are enjoying radio airplay throughout the United States and Europe, as well as internet and satellite radio.

Contact Judy Coder for booking information.

Instrumentation

Judy Coder, vocal and guitar

Discography

Judy Coder: Yodels!
Judy Coder: A Tribute to Patsy Montana
Judy Coder: Pride of the Prairie
Judy Coder: Classical Favorites
Judy Coder: Frontier Songs
Judy Coder and Pride of the Prairie: By Request
Judy Coder and Pride of the Prairie: Western Sky
Judy Coder and Pride of the Prairie: Singin' Down the Road

Audio

• Yodelin' Tex (Yodel)
  Listen   Download
• Butterscotch Moon
  Listen   Download

Video

Judy Coder Yodels - WMA 2008

Sunflower Journeys Plains People - Judy Coder.wmv

Photo Gallery

Press

• Judy Coder: Songcatcher [+ Show ]
  

  From our Purveyor of Music: I've had the pleasure of enjoying Judy Coder in concert up close and ...From our Purveyor of Music:
  
  I've had the pleasure of enjoying Judy Coder in concert up close and personal, and far back in a large auditorium. I've heard her instruct Western singers in the craft of using their voices as an instrument, sharing sage advice from her years of vast experience. I've interviewed her and chatted over the phone long distance - one thing shines strong and true - her love ...for life, for music, for history, and for those around her.
  
  This CD is a collection of songs this Kansas "Songcatcher" has lassoed and pulled into her heart. She has loved them, internalized them, and made them her own. Not easy to do as many of these have been written and performed by Western masters including Joyce Woodson, Juni Fisher, Patty Clayton, and R.W. Hampton. She is able to give them back to us in her own way - with joyous abandonment. These songs float and soar, she takes us on a journey into the West, into its very heart. We feel the pioneer woman's fear of the "Red Buffalo", and we see "What Jacob Reilly Saw", we feel the quiet despair of the patient wife in "He'd Be Home By Now", and the joy of the cowgirl in "Wringle Wrangle."
  
  Elegant yet simple, clean with unnecessary flourishes, Judy Coder the "Songcatcher" enthralls us with the pure essence of these songs...these songs she's caught, loved, and released back to us with her exquisite voice .

Setlist

My typical set list depends on the program. For example, "Patsy Montana: the Cowboy's Sweetheart" features songs sung, recorded, or inspired by the late, great Miss Patsy. My program "The Wild, Wild Women of the Wild, Wild West" features songs of the western frontier. Programs are tailored to fit each audience.

Basic Requirements

Calendar