Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Danae Cowan will play the violin in her first performance as a member of the Lebanon Chamber Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 15.
The chamber orchestra will join the Lebanon Community Chorus for the performance, to be held at Lebanon High School. Admission is free.
Cowan is a 13-year-old eighth-grade student at East Linn Christian Academy.
“I play violin,” she said. “This is my first year in the orchestra. I sing a little bit, and I play piano too.”
She said she got interested in the orchestra when she saw a friend in the orchestra playing.
The orchestra performs a Christmas and spring program each year.
In January, she will be a four-year veteran violin player.
Until now, she has “played in duets and solos,” Cowan said. “I like playing with other people and the way it sounds as a group.
“I’ve always wanted to do it (play violin), and I enjoy praising God with it,” said Cowan, who attends East Linn Christian Academy. “It’s fun.”
She plays for her church, Fairview Mennonite, as well. She takes lessons from Marilyn Tyler of Sweet Home.
Tyler is a member of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra. Terry Lowen, who will play the piano in the program, is Cowan’s piano instructor.
The orchestra began performing in Lebanon during Christmas 2000 and has given a Christmas and spring concert every year.
The orchestra began as a string ensemble playing Christmas carols in the Stainthorp’s Music store in Lebanon. It started with Jean Marshall, her music students, a trombone player and a piano accompanist.
As Marshall’s number of students increased, the group grew into an orchestra.
Within the orchestra are ensembles and quartets who perform for weddings, anniversaries and other special events.
Shirley and Gary Stainthorp, who are Sweet Home residents, have supported the orchestra from the beginning, providing a practice hall, music stands and much more.
The orchestra always needs new members as youths grow up and go to college or move away.
For more information about the orchestra, call Kathleen Coddington at 259-2182.