Amherst, Ann Elizabeth Cleary Kearns, 76, of Amherst, died of pneumonia at Cooley Dickinson Hospital on March 2, 2016.  Born in Jacksonville, Illinois, she held a BA from Stanford University, completed the choral conducting program at Juilliard School of Music, and earned an M.M. in Music History from the University of Wisconsin.  From 1976 to 2000 she was professor of music and choral director at Hampshire College.  As one of the first female choral directors in the Pioneer Valley, she led the way for other women to enter the field.  From 1972 to 1979 she led Da Camera Singers (an early music choral group) which continues to this day.  The composer of many published choral works she had distinguished commissions and performances by the Blanche Moyse Chorale, Alice Parker and others.  She also received several grants and awards. 

Ann was an avid birder, extraordinary musician, political activist, member of the Amherst environmental community and loving grandmother.  She was an active volunteer and member of the Kestrel Land Trust Advisory council where she organized walks and talks once or twice a month to bring people out on the land.  She died overlooking the beloved Mount Holyoke Range which the Kestrel Land Trust continues to preserve. 

She is survived by her longtime partner, Mary Hocken of Amherst, her former husband Thomas R. Kearns of Shutesbury, her daughter Julia Abbott and her husband Bob, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, her son Matthew and his wife Lucia of Falmouth, Maine and her cherished grandchildren Emily, Benjamin, and Matthew Abbott, and Peter and Jonathan Kearns.

Donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made to Kestrel Land Trust of Amherst Massachusetts at www.kestreltrust.org or PO Box 1016 Amherst MA 01004. 

Services will be on April 9, 2016 at Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst, Massachusetts, at 3 pm, followed by a gathering in the Parish Hall.  The celebration of Ann’s life will continue at 5:30 pm at Lewis-Sebring, Valentine Hall, Amherst College.