Five years of Music Galore continues to showcase the increasing technical skills of the Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells. Pictured (L-R): Margaret Sandor, Janet Whitesell, Bev Evans, Laurel Deniger, Mary Miester, Carrie Benton, Carole Rice, Julee Samuli, Glen Stocking and director Joann Wallenburn.
Doug Mood played a tune called "Derivative" to demonstrate how the use of the relative minor can introduce a dramatic or even a sinister atmosphere into a song.
One of the songs Kal Kovatch played was called "Navaho Rug" and spoke of fond memories associated with the song.
Seeley-Swan High School senior McKinley Nicholas chose a challenging piece for his piano selection, "The Entertainer."
Sitting together on the piano bench, Joann Wallenburn and Mary Miester somehow kept their fingers from getting tangled as they played the notes to two songs arranged for four-hand piano.
Abram Pocha and Chelsea Cahoon paired to sing a love song that became a Gold Record in 1985.
Pete Feigley had some trouble tuning his banjo before playing with wife Rachel. He quipped: "Banjo players spend half their time tuning and the other half playing out of tune."
SEELEY LAKE - On May 4, guitar and banjo players, vocalists, pianists and an accordion player joined the Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells in presenting an evening of Music Galore. This is the fifth year the Mountain Bells have hosted the free event that invites local musicians to show off their skills and entertain the community.
The 10 members of Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells introduced the wide-ranging scope of the program by playing three distinctively different songs. The first, "Apassionata," an original piece composed by Michael Joy for his wife, extolled the love the two have for one another.
The second piece, also an original composition, "Song of Gladness" by Arnold Sherman, employed a number of different handbell techniques and showcased how much the skills of the Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells have developed over the years.
The third piece was the Christian folk hymn, "What Wondrous Love Is This."
Doug Mood and his accordion next took the stage. Mood, a former member of the Mountain Bells, moved to Idaho last year but drove back to Seeley Lake to participate in Music Galore. Mood played three pieces also, including one he composed for his son's wedding. Called "Wedding Music," the piece consisted of four parts: Entrance of the Men, Flower Girl, Entrance of the Bride and Presentation of the Bride to the Groom.
Seeley-Swan High School (SSHS) senior Abram Pocha and 2011 SSHS graduate Chelsea Cahoon sang a duet version of the 1983 song "Heaven" by Bryan Adams. Pocha accompanied the duet with his guitar.
Also representing SSHS was pianist senior McKinley Nicholas who played the lively Scott Joplin tune "The Entertainer."
Sharing one piano, Mary Miester and Joann Wallenburn played four-hand versions of "Over the Rainbow" and "Tea for Two."
Singer and guitarist Kal Kovatch chose two country tunes from the 1980s: "16th Avenue" and "Navajo Rug." The country western entertainment industry centers around 16th Avenue in Nashville and Kovatch said the song was "about the climb up the ladder basically from nobody to Nashville superstars."
Rachel and Pete Feigley on guitar and banjo, reached even farther back in the music archives to sing and play the English folk song "Cuckoo" followed by the popular Appalachian folk tune "Cluck Old Hen." Both songs are characterized by a set chorus to which a wide range of verses have been added through the ages. The lyrics the Feigleys chose for "Cluck Old Hen" warns that a chicken no longer laying eggs will find herself clucking in the pot instead of the hen house.
The program ended with three more selections by the Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells. Two of the pieces were handbell compositions based on church music. The other piece, "Plink, Plank, Plunk," Mountain Bells Director Joann Wallenburn introduced by saying, "Sometimes you just have to do a song because it's fun."
Though the players' hand movements generally control the sound of the bells, the Jules Feiffer handbell arrangement of "Plink, Plank, Plunk" calls for the bells to remain on the table and be struck with a mallet. Another sound, called a marcato, was introduced by banging the bell into the foam so that the clapper rang but was immediately silenced. Another staccato sound was created by striking the mallet handles together. In addition, the musicians surprised the audience with funny and unexpected sound effects produced by a whip or slapstick (two wooden boards joined by a hinge), a mini cowbell, and a dog's squeaker toy.
Before the final song, Mountain Bell Bev Evans presented Wallenburn with a selection of herbs for her garden. Evans expressed the group's appreciate for all the hard work Wallenburn has put into directing and coordinating the Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells during its six years of existence.
Evans noted that many of the members of the group were musicians or music majors. She said, "It's not easy being the director of a bunch that thinks they know it all."
The choir is still in need of more bell ringers, since several ringers played four or even six bells to compensate for the lack of members. The group plays at church services when invited and also at Memorial Day and Veterans Day celebrations in Seeley Lake. In December they will help ring in the Christmas season at the Double Arrow Lodge.
For more information, please call Wallenburn at 677-4424 or email joann@wallenburn.org.
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