Joyce Geeting

Joyce Ann Geeting, 78, passed away peacefully on October 19, 2022, in her Canoga Park, California, home with family and friends close at hand. She had been in hospice care for several weeks. An acclaimed cellist, Joyce concertized extensively in the United States and Europe. Born in Pacific Grove, California, on April 7, 1944, to John Hoff and Wilhelmina (DeVries) Nordvik, Joyce spent most of her childhood and teen years in Oakland, California, graduating from Oakland Technical High School in 1961. Joyce earned degrees from the University of Washington (Bachelor of Engineering, 1965), Washington State (Master of Arts, 1969), and the University of Oregon, where she received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1978. She was a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Mu Phi Epsilon, and she taught at the collegiate level in Montana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and California, as well as instructing many private cello students. She was principal cellist with the Redlands Symphony (1989-1995). Joyce founded Chamber Music Plus in 1982 and was the organization’s director for more than 35 years. Her avocational interests included skiing, sewing, and reading.
In 2003 with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Joyce performed the World premier of American composer Carol Worthey’s Elegy for Cello & Orchestra, a work inspired by the events of 9/11, and a work that Joyce had commissioned. In 2008, Joyce authored János Starker, King of Cellists, The Making of an Artist, a highly regarded biography of the legendary, Grammy-award-winning musician. She met Starker initially while working on her doctoral dissertation, studied with him extensively, and later interviewed him at length for the book. In 2014, she received the Outstanding Studio Teacher Award from the American String Teachers Association.
Joyce is survived by her husband, Dr. Daniel Meredith Geeting of Canoga Park. She was previously married to John Robert Knoll, who tragically died in an airplane accident in 1972. Joyce is also survived by her three sons:
• Physician, emergency medicine specialist, and Air Force veteran Dr. Glenn (Knoll) Geeting of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania (and wife Heather);
• Professional singer and actor Loren (Knoll) Geeting who resides in Portugal; and
• Packform co-founder and executive Preston Russell Geeting of La Cañada Flintridge, California (and wife Nicole).
Joyce’s ten grandchildren include Max, Corinne, and Madison (Pennsylvania); Ross and Beau (England); Isabelle, Daniel Skye, and Lily Blue (Portugal); and Madelyn and Hayden (California).
Joyce’s family plans a memorial gathering and service on January 15, 2023, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1 West Avenida de los Arboles, Thousand Oaks, California. Her family invites memorial contributions to the American Red Cross, or a charitable organization of the donor’s choosing.