The 32- piece Devils Lake Community Orchestra performed several classical favorites for the community on two beautiful spring days, Saturday and Sunday, April 18 & 19 in the Devils Lake High School Commons. The performances drew a crowd of about 125 people.
The orchestra, under the direction of Jeremiah Johnson and concert master, Richard Neukom, entertained the audience with performance pieces under the title “Notes of Spring.” During Saturday night’s performance, Devils Lake High School seniors – Izhavel Nelson, Betty Fang and Livia Nelson were featured. Izhavel performed a solo – “Cello Concerto No 4” while Betty and Livia’s duet “Concerto Groso in A Minor” was well received by the audience. Jeremiah Johnson and Ben Bergstrom performed a duet entitled “Concerto for 2 Violins” and the entire orchestra performed several other numbers including selections from “Oliver! The Musical.”
During the concert’s intermission, the Devils Lake Music Club served sweets and coffee to concertgoers. Proceeds from intermission support music scholarships for youth who attend International Music Camp at the Peace Garden as well as Dakota Chamber Music held on the campus of Minot State University. The Devils Lake Community Orchestra also supports music scholarships for students in the region as well.
During these two concerts, a fundraising campaign kicked off for this historic 1957 Steinway at Devils Lake High School. The piano was donated to the school, decades ago. This classic piano is in need of a major tune up and restoration. The committee in charge of the fundraising includes orchestra members and other music supporters in the community. The goal is to raise $80,000 for the restoration project. So far, just under half of the funds have been donated by many music supporters in the community. Restoring this piano will be a great investment as a new Steinway can cost upwards of $200,000.
Members of the orchestra are passionate about music and the performance art. They hail from the city of Devils Lake and also include members from towns in the region including New Rockford, Leeds, Tolna and Langdon. The musicians in this concert included one college student, five high school students and one middle school-aged student. The Devils Lake Community Orchestra thanks our musicians for their dedication to practices and performances. We also thank the many many supporters of this long-standing organization. Without these two groups, this organization would not exist.
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