Here is a little peek at what Whispering Roses does in their spare time….we write funny musical spoofs and enter them in talent shows! Here is our performance of “There’s No Schooling Like Homeschooling” at the Homeschool Alumni Talent Show.
A couple of times a year we haul our instruments to the charming Crossroad’s Coffee Cafe and put on a concert for our local fans. We enjoyed a full house Saturday evening and loved seeing familiar faces as well as meeting the new folks who came to hear us for the first time. We used our own sound system this time, which allowed us to finally mix the bass notes of the harp up enough! The ease of mixing with a system our dad already knew was worth it! It was a fun concert!
Of course, one of the best parts is all the yummy sandwiches and delicious drinks. If you stop by before our next concert you might find us there just having lunch!
By popular request, I have made the video from our performance of Laura Zaerr’s Celtic Concerto in December available online! Special thanks to Paul Leavitt for filming and editing the video. It is so fun to re-live that magical evening!
We had a great time at the concert with the Dunn Mountain Boys. Our audience enjoyed the contrasting, yet complementary program!
Issac takes a solo!
Caleb taking the lead on the fiddle!
Luke sings lead!
Luke on the banjo.
The Engell brothers singing three part harmony!
We played These Are My Mountains and Wherever You Are together at the end. We had a fantastic time and hope to do it again!
Wow! It is hard to believe we closed 2013 with 10th annual performance at the Grotto’s Christmas Festival of Lights! It has become a memorable tradition, appreciated by us and our fans alike.
Mom on the tambourine!
Singing one of our favorites – The Wexford Carol. I love the acoustics of the chapel as we sing the old, old carols!
We wore our Renaissance costumes which we each made!
After much preparation, the Celtic Concerto concert was a huge success! I’m incredibly grateful to each of the fantastic musicians who made the music sound so lovely, and to our wonderful audience who filled the house. Everyone enjoyed the variety of instrumental combinations.
The entire group of musicians
We girls opened the concert with our Celtic Christmas music! We loved being able to play without a sound system, thanks to the beautiful natural acoustics of the Canby Wedding Chapel.
And yes, Noah was a part of the performance!
We enjoyed delving into classical music by playing a unique arrangement of several movements from a Corelli Sonata.
Sarah and Ross played a beautiful arrangement of Silent Night.
Who would have thought that harp and soprano sax would be a combo – but they were absolutely lovey on Still, Still, Still.
And they managed to convince me to play a pedal harp solo!
Kathrina, Bethany, Ashley and Maren did a beautiful job with a string quartet medley of Christmas songs.
The Concerto! It was so helpful to have Stephanie conduct! 
It was a dream come true for me to be able to perform Laura Zaerr’s Celtic Concerto at a Whispering Roses concert!
I was so pleased with the group of musicians. Each person brought excellence to the performance. I’d be delighted to work with them again anytime!
It has long been my dream to organize my own performance of the Celtic Concerto written by Oregon’s own Laura Zaerr. This piece artfully strings together seven celtic tunes featuring harp accompanied by a string quartet, oboe and flute.
I’m so grateful to each of the wonderful musicians who are making this project possible. Our rehearsal was amazing and I’m looking forward to our Friday night concert!
Kathrina Bisceglia – violin
As my sister, Kathrina performs with me at every concert, but it is fun to be doing a chamber music project together. Her precision and confidence as first violinist is appreciated!
Bethany Strang – violin
Bethany was the first musician to get back to me with yes, she could do this! She has played violin for a number of years and is excited to be performing with a quartet for the first time. As one of my good friends, I’m so glad she was available for second violin!
Maren Knopp – viola
Some of you may remember our joint concert with the Knopp brothers’ string quartet, Highstrung, in 2009. Maren is now married to Joshua Knopp (the cellist) and I was thrilled she was available for this concert! As a graduate of the University of Missouri she is spot-on as our violist.
Ashley Meyers – cello
Ashley came to me as a referral from a friend, of a friend, of a friend, but I couldn’t be more happy to have found her! She has played cello for ten years and is principle cellist with Oregon Pro Arte Youth Chamber Orchestra.
Ross Leavitt – soprano saxophone
When I first wanted to do this project, my main problem was that I didn’t know an oboist. When I found out that a sax can also play oboe parts I was ecstatic – what a versatile instrument! A graduate of the University of Michigan, Ross has done a great job being the only guy of the group – and his sax playing is as sweet and mellow as could be desired.
Krista Bisceglia – recorders, penny whistle
This is Krista’s first time playing with a conductor, but she has figured it out amazingly well! She also is balancing the flute part on several of her recorders, along with the parts specifically written for penny whistle, so she is the multi-instrumentalist of the group!
Stephanie Polequin – conductor
Since the concerto consists of multiple pieces of music strung together with rather interesting transitions, I felt a conductor would help to smooth things out and make our one rehearsal a whole lot easier. I first met Stephanie when I was playing under her for Journey Youth Theater’s musicals, and I’m so excited she was able to take this project on!
Come see us play!
When: 7:00pm | Friday, December 20, 2013
Where: Canby Wedding Chapel
508 NW 3rd Ave. Canby, Oregon 97013
Admission: $10 per person, $35 per family
We have been thoroughly enjoying our tour of California! Our hosts have been most gracious and lovely (although there was one coffee shop that forgot we were coming)! We still have two more concerts to go, so if you know anyone in the area, let them know we are coming through!
When: 7:00pm | Monday, December 2, 2013
Where: Faith Community Church
7352 Boris Court, Rohnert Park, CA 94928
Admission: Donations Gratefully Accepted
When: 7:00pm | Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Where: First Church of God
1005 S. Jackson St. Red Bluff, CA 96080
Admission: Donations Gratefully Accepted
Performing at Faith Baptist Church
After hearing us play at the 2013 Homeschool Alumni English Country Dance, Laura Hatch, the caller for Set To Music English Country Dancing asked us if we would play for some of her balls! We often attend as dancers, but it was very enjoyable to be able to provide live music for one of the dance sets. 
Dressed and ready to play! Krista learned how to do face painting especially for this ball. We loved the way they turned out!
Ready to play
At the harp
We can see Sarah in this one!
The dance caller’s daughter trying her hand at the piano!
Some of the other dancers
Noah also came and danced! Can you guess who he is representing?
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