Recent Membership Meeting
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Membership Meeting, Wednesday June 13th.
Marianne Cygnel is seen here performing at the June membership meeting. Marianne is a native of Kokkola (Fitchburg's sister city), Finland. After homesteading in the woods of New Hampshire for 23 years, trying to forget the old country, she moved to Gloucester, MA. There, she found herself living among descendants of Finnish granite workers, near two saunas, and across the street from the Lutheran church, where the Cape Ann Finnish Singers were rehearsing and invited her to join. She rediscovered her Finnish soul, took up the accordion, and has been happily playing and singing ever since. She is happiest when she gets people to sing along, whether they know Finnish or not. Marianne finished the evening with a ballad from Åland, sung in Swedish: "Vem kan segla förutan vind?" (Who can sail without the wind?). We all had a enjoyable time joining in the sing-along's and listening to her beautiful playing of many delightful Finnish tunes. Membership Meeting, Wednesday April 11th.
For our April meeting program, Finnish Center member George Engman played his electronically synthesized "Cyber-Accordion". As if by magic, the sounds of a trumpet could be heard in a few tunes. George played the music of many countries including Italy, Sweden & Finland. Of special interest was the song ' Metsäkukkia' ("woods flower" or "wild flower"). This tune inspired Barbara White's composition ' Raging River, Rolling Stone' which honors Fitchburg in the national millennium project called Continental Harmony. The members greatly enjoyed George's music and his mastery of the electronic accordion. Membership Meeting, Wednesday March 14th.
Finnish Center member Mallory Ottariano, dressed as "Annie", delighted the audience at our March membership meeting with her wonderful musical talents. Ten year old Mallory was accompanied by her dad, Dave Andrews who sang and played guitar. The performance included Mallory singing show tunes from "Annie" and "The Sound of Music". Her violin playing covered a wide selection from Bach to Irish jigs finishing with a rousing hoedown. Mallory's playing showed pleasing musical interpretation, so good to see in a young performer. Mallory is a member of the Skating Committee and has skated since she was three years old. She is learning Ice Dancing through lessons at the Park We all look forward to having Mallory and her Dad return and give us another unforgettable evening of music.
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