Austin & Sarabeth

Congratulations to Austin and Sarabeth on their marriage! Austin and Sarabeth were married on Saturday, December 27 at Maple Springs United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This beautiful couple envisioned a Christmas theme for their December nuptials! I had so much fun working with them to help create their wedding vision. For the wedding prelude, I performed a variety of Christmas selections on the harp, including O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; and The First Nowell. The Christmas theme also carried into their wedding ceremony. The bride chose What Child is This? (Greensleeves) an English melody for the seating of the grandmothers; The Nightingale by Henson-Conant for the seating of the mothers; Canon in D by Pachelbel for the entrance of the bridal party; Trumpet Voluntary by Clarke for the entrance of the bride; Still, Still, Still an Austrian carol for the lighting of the unity candle; and Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring by Bach for the recessional. Congratulations again to this beautiful couple on their gorgeous December wedding!

Ceremony of Carols

I’ve had such as exciting holiday season, performing at churches, parties, businesses, hospitals, and retirement communities! It has truly been a joyful holiday, and I’m so blessed to have had the opportunity to perform for so many festive events! On Sunday, December 21, I performed for the morning Christmas pageant and evening candlelight service at Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory. At the morning service, I performed prelude and special music with my cousin, Savannah Sowers. She is a talented violinist and a freshman at Hickory High School. I am looking forward to performing with Savannah at more events in the future! At the evening service, I accompanied the chamber choir and string ensemble on Norman Luboff’s arrangement of Still Still Still; Bruce Greer’s arrangement of Mary, Did You Know? by Lowry/Green; and John Rutter’s Candlelight Carol. There is no written harp part for the Candlelight Carol, but Peter Corneliussen, Director of Music at Corinth (and a gifted composer) wrote a harp part for me to perform at the service. I was excited to premiere this harp part at the candlelight service, and will be sure to save it for future engagements! It is always a pleasure to work with Peter and the talented musicians at Corinth.

On December 24, I performed at a beautiful Christmas Eve service at First United Methodist Church in Morganton. I had the pleasure of working with Amalie Hinson, Director of Music, who put together a dynamic service of diverse musical ensembles, including performances using voice, harp, flute, recorder, organ, piano, drums, and other percussion instruments. It was truly a treat to hear holiday music performed using such a variety of instrumentation. I accompanied the chamber choir on John Rutter’s Carol of the Children and Hal Hopson’s arrangement of Noel Nouvelet. I also performed Hal Hopson’s arrangements of the congregational hymns O Come All Ye Faithful and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. It was truly a pleasure to work with Amalie and the other talented musicians at First United Methodist.

Afterwards, I drove to my second performance of the evening. I performed Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with the chamber choir at Saint Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church in Blowing Rock. The Ceremony of Carols is a famous work for chamber choir and harp, and progresses over twelve short movements. I had so much fun working with James Bumgardner, Director of Music, and the talented choir at Saint Mary’s. I’d like to extend a special thank you to David Dauphine for his support. As a contestant (and eventual 1st runner-up) in the 2008 Miss South Carolina pageant, David stepped forward to serve as one of my pageant sponsors based on the promise that I would come perform at Saint Mary’s. I was delighted to honor his request. It was truly an amazing experience to work with such a talented group of musicians and to be part of such a beautiful Christmas Eve performance!

Deck the Halls!

This weekend, I performed at a beautiful Victorian home and a Medieval feast! On Friday, December 12, I performed for a Victorian Christmas Celebration at the Harper House/Hickory History Center. This is a hugely popular Christmas event, as guests enjoy evening tours of the lavishly decorated Victorian home, detailing a traditional English Christmas. I performed traditional and popular Christmas selections on the harp. My younger sister, Iva also performed on the harp for this festive holiday event. She has played the harp for several years, and is a junior in high school. I was happy to have her join me for this special evening!

On Saturday, December 13, I performed at the Medieval Madrigal Festival at Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory, North Carolina. The fellowship hall was transformed into an elegant banquet hall, as guests enjoyed a medieval style holiday feast and musical program led by Peter Corneliussen, Director of Music Ministry. The evening’s program included original music compositions by Peter, traditional Christmas carols, and dramatizations by a professional theatre company in North Carolina. The singers and players were fabulous, as they entertained guests in medieval costume. I performed holiday music on the harp during dinner and for the transitions in the musical program. It was truly a holiday treat to be part of such fun events!

Tis the Season!

On Saturday, December 6, 2008, I performed at two holiday events! This first event was a Christmas open house at Whitestone: Masonic and Eastern Star Community in Greensboro. In November, I performed for their Thanksgiving event at The Painted Plate in Greensboro. I was invited back to perform for this special holiday event at their retirement center. As residents and guests enjoyed holiday treats and roasted coffee, I entertained them with holiday carols and hymns, ranging from O Holy Night to Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town to Silver Bells. I also chatted about the history and mechanics of the harp, and had audience members of all ages sit at the harp and pluck a string or run their hands up and down to create the effect known as a glissando. I had so much fun with the residents and guests, and I am looking forward to performing again at their Holiday banquet next week.

The next event was a Christmas party at a beautiful home in Greensboro. The house looked picturesque, as it was decorated with garland, candles, and bows. The front entrance of the house was lit by beautiful luminaries. There were over 100 guests in attendance, and I set up in the living room by the fireplace and performed holiday and popular selections, while the guests enjoyed the delicious food and festive atmosphere. A one point, I accompanied a group of singers (guests) and we performed Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Winter Wonderland together. I also took special requests, and was only unable to fulfill one, Jingle Bell Rock. I just might have to add that to my holiday repertoire for next year! I enjoyed visiting with the guests and being part of such a fun and festive evening. Thank you Bob Krumroy for inviting me to be part of this Christmas event!

This is only the beginning of an exciting December, filled with festive holiday events!