Annual Meeting A Success!
(click on image for larger view)
The annual meeting and workshop on August 1 was well attended and the weather cooperated beautifully. The potluck picnic lunch was enjoyed by all.
We had psalmodikon players from Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. There were players who were very experienced and also players who were just beginning to learn. All had a good time learning new songs and practicing old ones. Since we had a full range of instruments, from soprano to bass, we were able to harmonize which makes playing more enjoyable.
Seventeen psalmodikon players spent most of the morning and afternoon practicing and learning. While the more experienced players were practicing songs they already knew, some new players were getting lessons from Beatrice in another area and this helped them become more comfortable with playing before they joined the larger group later on. Separate small group lessons for new players worked well. The new players were taught the rudiments of playing and learned some songs for about an hour or so. Joining the larger group was not quite as intimidating as it might have been without this confidence-building exercise.
We enjoyed dinner Saturday evening at the Bungalow restaurant across the St. Croix River in Minnesota.
Eleven members played at the Sunday worship service at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Hudson, Wisconsin the following morning. We played well and the congregation enjoyed it quite a lot.
The Scandinavian psalmodikon players from Sweden and Norway have been invited to join us next year so that will be a treat to look forward to.
