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On Sunday night, one of her band mates called her ex-husband, Gareth Branwyn, to say that she did not show up to a scheduled performance. Branwyn called the police immediately, he said, because she never missed a show. She was pronounced dead at 10:35 a.m. Monday by the Maryland Medical Examiner's Office.
"She could be on her deathbed with the flu and she would take cold medicine and go to the gig," Branwyn said. "As far as she was concerned you just don't miss jobs."
Branwyn, who was Bricker's husband for 22 years before they split up two years ago, said she was a caring person filled with love for the people in her life.
"She was an extraordinary, sweet person and really did have a great love for people and all of the people around her," he said. "She was very devoted and loving to the people that meant a lot to her life, and there were a lot of those people."
Bricker was as a part-time faculty member in the music department since 2000, said Tracy Schario, GW's director of Media Relations.
"She was extremely well liked by students and faculty, and was an extremely well respected performer and teacher," Schario said.
Bricker sang with the faculty jazz combo and taught jazz voice, Schario said. Sophomore Corey Brekher said he has attended nearly every jam session since he came to GW and that Bricker left an impact on him after going to his first concert.
"I was pretty blown away not only by her vocals but her musical abilities - how she sang and moved, and her encyclopedic knowledge of all types of music," Brekher said.
Well known on the local D.C. jazz scene, Bricker was a 15-time nominee for the Washington Area Music Association's annual award, according to her Web site biography.
"All these musicians really respected her, not only as a singer, but as a musician," Branwyn said. "That's one of the things that really strikes me about her. She had an unbelievable devotion to the professionalism about what she did."
Bricker was a vocalist in the band Thievery Corporation, appearing on its first three albums. She performed vocals for the group's song "Lebanese Blonde," which was featured on the Grammy award-winning soundtrack to the movie "Garden State."
