Second Saturdays at Sunnyside Up

November 14 from 6 to 8 PM

Second Saturdays at SunnySide Up, 116 NW Third St., 6-8 p.m, features the Two Performances:
Harpist Sharon Thormahlen
The Meadowlark Trio
A $5.00 donation is suggested.

The November event will support Josh Hough


For over three years Corvallis native Josh Hough has been working as a member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in the West Bank. The funding for Josh’s work comes predominantly from donations and his own savings. His CPT activities include accompaniment, monitoring, documentation, advocacy, and violence deterrence -- predominantly in the South Hebron Hills, and predominantly benefiting children who often suffer from all manner of harassment from Israeli settlers. Josh and other CPT members escort children as they walk to and from their buses and schools or venture out for various reasons into settlement areas. It is understood that Israeli settlers are not likely to harass children who have CPT escorts with them.

At a time when the international community is calling for a settlement freeze, the settler community in the South Hebron Hills continues its expansion unabated, resulting in more confrontations among settlers and the Palestinians who are being displaced. Besides his work in the Hebron Hills, Josh is currently involved in helping an Iraqi refugee family living in Syria who has a young son with the same debilitating endocrine disorder that Josh had as a child. Josh is hoping to donate his own medicine to the boy and also to help the family financially until they can be resettled. This is important and selfless work that Josh is doing – an act of love. This November Second Saturdays Benefit offers us the opportunity to make this work possible. To find out more about the Christian Peacemakers Team: www.cpt.org

Sharon Thormahlen, harpist


Sharon promises to play for us many of her favorite original compositions, which she refers to as “musical watercolors." Noticing the evocative, visual nature of Sharon’s music, Dave Lozier, Executive Director of the Harping for Harmony Foundation, writes: “Sharon's piece, “Where River Turns to Sky ... creates an image with a nice Aeolian mix of murmuring water and calm, expansive grandeur." To imagine Sharon’s music, think green, think water, think peace. Her first CD, "The Singing Tree," consists of 14 original compositions and will be for sale on concert night. In addition to her own beautiful compositions, Sharon will treat us to a few Celtic tunes as well.

She has published 9 very popular books of harp music for students and teachers, each with an optional audio CD. But Sharon doesn’t limit herself to just composing, playing, and publishing music books, she also has a hand in making harps … from scratch! She and husband Dave Thormahlen and partner Tommy Nunn own Thormahlen Harps, where they make beautifully crafted, custom made harps in their studio on Brooklane Drive in Corvallis. Sharon does the stringing and the tuning. The Thormahlens have been featured on OPB's Art Beat. To watch this segment and also get more information about Sharon's music you can go to the Thormahlen's website: www.thorharp.com.

The Meadowlark Trio


The Meadowlark Trio, 7pm, will play baroque music including Telemann, Vivaldi, Handel and more. Michael Molk, oboe. Michael began playing the oboe at the age of ten, studying with William Baker at Ohio State University. He has played with numerous ensembles, including the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra, The All-Ohio Youth Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, and many chamber groups. Julia Lont, cello, started playing in the fifth grade. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she grew up and went to college, she played in the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony, studied at Interlochen Arts Camp, and taught private lessons. While attending Calvin College, she served as principal cellist of the Calvin College orchestra. At Calvin, Julia majored in art and art history, and she is now an art teacher at Corvallis High School. Julia plays in the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra and the Willamette Valley Community Orchestra. Maureen Beezhold, spinet (a small harpsichord), began piano at age six. She minored in music at Canada College and has enjoyed teaching privately since then. Fourteen years ago she learned to play soprano/alto and tenor recorders and later played in the early music group, Antiquae Novae. She also plays four-hand piano regularly with piano partner, Carol Mason. Maureen plays the spinet and recorders in the Meadowlark Trio.