Wooster Music Club celebrates holiday season
The Wooster Music Club met Dec. 5 in the Wooster United Methodist Church’s Wesley Hall. While guests and members were gathering for the evening program, pianist Stephanie Musselman played the song “Camelot” from Lerner and Loewe’s musical Broadway hit, “Camelot.” Club President Judithe Craig and club member Todd Patterson welcomed guests with a short skit based on another popular song from the musical titled “What Do the Simple Folk Do?”
The first performance of the evening was given by Dilgard Scholarship recipient Sarah Armstrong, an alto saxophone musician and a senior at Norwayne High School who has studied under the instruction of Diana Cobbs and presently is a student of Eric Fairhurst. Armstrong performed the second movement of the “Creston Sonata” for alto saxophone composed by Paul Creston.
Following this was a medley of Christmas carols performed by the Wildwood Woodwind Quartet consisting of Annie Gerig on English horn, Kathy Helmuth on flute, guest musician Jay Klemme on bassoon and Marty Starkey on clarinet. The selections played were “Carol of the Bells,” arranged by Frank Halferty; “Greensleeves,” a traditional composition; “Watts Cradle Song” by Isaac Watts; and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” a traditional composition.
Two Christmas duets were then performed by Gerig and guest musician Anna Puster on English horn. Puster is a music education major in her third year at The College of Wooster. She performs in the Wooster Symphony Orchestra and was artistic director for the recent performance of “Shrek the Musical” performed by students at Triway High School. She also serves as the associate music director for WacPac.
Gerig and Puster’s duets brought a jazzy twist to two Christmas songs. “Up on the Housetop,” composed by B. Hanby, and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” composed by H. Martin/R. Blane, were both performed by the duo as jazz arrangements by Robert Elkjer.
The program ended with another medley of carols and songs performed by local musician Eric Fairhurst on soprano saxophone and guest musician Tom Lugoloobi, a professional pianist from Ukraine. Among the selections were “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel,” “Christmas Time Is Here” by Vince Guaraldi, “Moonlight in Vermont” by Karl Suessdorf, and “The Christmas Song” by Robert Wells and Mel Torme. Of particular interest was the story of Lugoloobi’s decision to flee the war in Ukraine with his young toddler son shortly after the war broke out. Sadly, his wife had passed just prior to the war, but Lugoloobi made the journey safely from Ukraine to the United States, and they both now reside in Wooster.
The Wooster Music Club meets the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. from September through May, with the exception of January and February, at Wesley Hall in the Wooster United Methodist Church. Guests are welcome.
