It was a packed house Sunday, June 7 as the Stanley Area Historical Society hosted a String Recital in the Alvin Mortensen Room at 1:30 p.m.
Elizabeth Miniatt made a charcuterrie board to include with refreshments, while Nikki Witt also contributed food choices.
Performing in the string recital Sunday were Lauren Cody of Northwoods Strings and her students, Ryea, Weildone, and Winnie Witt, along with Clara Wissell and Tyler Stanek. Originally from Chicago, Cody learned to play string instruments in a suburban high school starting at age 8, earning a degree in cello performance and later taking the practice back up after several years away.
Also performing Sunday afternoon were Wyann Hoage and her teenage violin students, Aiden Westaby, Anna Pruss, and Mary Miniatt. Hoage, a violin and viola player, started at age 11 in the Twin Cities, moving to Stanley in late 1999.
The afternoon performances started off with a welcome from SAHS President David Jankoski, followed by Cody introducing her students. Starting out the performance was “I Love Peanut Butter,” played on the chord of G, followed by “The Leprechaun Song” on E and “See the Little Monkey,” an exercise in moving up and down the musical scale.
“We often use syllables to represent rhythm,” Cody said of the first three numbers and learninng string instruments. From there it was into “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Lightly Row,” showcasing student abilities.
Following this, Cody introduced Hoage as another string player with the quartette Strings in Harmony, the assembled string players performing “Boil ‘Em Cabbage” and “America the Beautiful” together.
Strings in Harmony then took center stage, with Hoage introducing her students before each announced a number for the quartette. Aiden Westaby chose “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us ,” with Pruss choosing Si Bheag, Si Mhor,” meaning “So Big, So Little” and attributed to blind harpist and singer Torlough Carolan. Miniatt chose “La Valse des Jeunes Filles,” or “The Waltz of the Little Girls.”
Following the quartette performances, Hoage did a solo performance of Bach’s “Air on a G String,” with Cody then joining the quartette on cello as it performed “You Raise Me Up.”
“For me it’s an exact picture of my faith journey,” Hoage said.
Cody then performed two solo numbers, Bach’s Suite 3 - Prelude and Popper Gavotte by David Popper.
Over sixty people attended Sunday’s recital, taking time for refreshments and museum exploration after the performance.
Readers interested in taking lessons may contact Lauren Cody at 715-644-8938 or by email at laurenthecellist@gmail.com.
Wyann Hoage can be contacted for interest in lessons at 715-703-3790.