GREENSBORO – A very upbeat concert to benefit the Greensboro Nursing Home (GNH) was held Friday evening, August 29, at the United Church of Christ. It featured Roy MacNeil on violin and guitar; Mavis MacNeil on saxophone, flute and vocals; Alice Perron on guitar and vocals; Andrew Koehler on piano and percussion and Icarus Tyree on viola, guitar, trombone and vocals.
photo by Katherine Sims
They started off with some traditional fiddle tunes by James Allen and Harvest Home, with Roy leading on his violin, accelerating the reels with faster and faster bowing that would challenge any dancer to kick up their heels. A classic song, “All of Me” was sung by Mavis with her lovely, expressive voice, accompanied by Koehler on piano and Roy on violin.
Duke Ellington’s beautiful melody “Take the A Train” continued Mavis’s vocals and gave Koehler the opportunity to do some skillful improvisation on the piano. Next was “Mr.Tamborine Man” by Bob Dylan, a great tune with many delightful lyrics, with Roy on violin, Tyree on guitar, Koehler on washboard with Mavis singing.
photo by Andrew Brown
“Barlow Knife” had bouncy rhythms in a pretty quick tempo with the same combination of musicians except for Mavis on flute. “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” by Nancy Sinatra was a song that Perron, who works at the GNH, got as a request from a resident there. Despite its rather aggressive verses, it would make good music for dancing, and the whole group joined in playing it. Another request, “Jambalaya,” was a big hit in 1952, here performed by Perron on guitar and singing, Mavis on saxophone, Tyree on mouth harp, Roy on violin and Koehler on washboard.
“Let’s Do it, Let’s Fall in Love” was a very amusing song with double entendres and a not so hidden agenda, with endless clever lyrics and a catchy melody, which Mavis sang with Koehler at the piano, again during imaginative variations on the theme. They continued with another favorite love song, “Misty,” Roy on violin and Tyree on viola teamed up for the third movement Rondo of Mozart’s “Duo, K. 423,” with its engaging tune of intertwinning instrumental lines in an empathetic interpretation.
“Bonhomme Bonhomme”, a French-Canadian folk song, was sung by Perron in a lively manner, with Roy on violin, Tyree on trombone, Mavis on flute and Koehler on piano, all in a kind of call-and-response, made with a compelling beat.
One of Perron’s GNH projects was to ask residents about their favorite memories of summer and put them together into an original song, which evoked a lot of beautiful imagery in her singing while playing the guitar.
Following an intermission, The entire line-up performed the Vermont State Anthem, “These Green Mountains” which had fine poetic lines.
Roy on guitar and Tyree on vocals got together for “One More Night”, a song of regret for the passing of a relationship, which had a lot of feeling in the verse. Mavis, Koehler and Roy gave a very nice rendition of “It’s a Wonderful World”, with its well needed optimism in meaningful lyrics, which Stevie Wonder popularized. “Four Strong Winds” effectively combined Perron on guitar, with Tryee’s vocals, about someone moving on.
A true oldie was “By the Light of the Silver Moon,” from 1909, sung by a trio of Mavis, Tyree, and Perron supported by guitar, violin and viola. Two very playful reels, one entitled an “Irish Washer Woman” had Roy on viola, Tyree on guitar, Mavis on saxophone and Koehler on washboard. They got the audience clapping to the complex rhythms. The last number on the program was “When You’re Smiling, the Whole World Smiles With You”, a fitting finale to a concert that had so many selections full of positive energy, played by multi-talented musicians who were genuinely having a lot of fun. The audience agreed by standing up for an enthusiastic ovation.
David K. Rodgers
David K. Rodgers is a writer, mason and card carrying dilettante, who dabbles and babbles in art. He has lived in East Craftsbury for the past 40 years.
