Janice M. Beck dead at 89

Janice M. Beck, 89, died October 31, 2026. Born March 23, 1937, in Richmond, Virginia, she received her early organ training at Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, and a master’s degree in organ performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Ann Arbor, as a student of Marilyn Mason. The recipient of a Fulbright scholarship, Beck spent a year in 1960 studying in Paris, France, with Jean Langlais and Nadia Boulanger.

Beck performed in many venues including Westminster Abbey, Coventry Cathedral, and Lincoln Cathedral in the United Kingdom, and the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris. Appearances in the United States included Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor; the Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Utah; First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, California; and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C. She recorded a number of CDs and LPs.

Beck was a member of the alumni board of governors of the University of Michigan School of Music, the advisory committee of the University Musical Society, and served as dean of the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. She was organist for St. John’s Episcopal Church and artist in residence of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit, and held previous positions as organist at First United Methodist Church and First Baptist Church, Ann Arbor.

Janice Beck was married to Charles Beck (deceased), a professor of botany at the University of Michigan, for 62 years. Janice Beck is survived by her daughter Ann Beck of San Francisco, California, and her daughter Sara Beck and son-in-law Craig Roderick of Jasper, Alabama. Memorial gifts may be made to the Humane Society of Huron Valley (hshv.org) or the University Musical Society (ums.org).