'American Tapestry' brings history, music to Morgan County

From Fort Morgan Times:  'American Tapestry' brings history, music to Morgan County

The reverberating sounds of "American Tapestry," a talented musical ensemble of nine harmonious voices, filled the Carnegie Room of the East Morgan County Library in Brush last week, transporting an audience of nearly 50 who attended the monthly Brush Museum lunch program, back to a time when the nation was bracing for the eruption of the American Civil War.
The group, composed of members Mark Carlson, Peggy Hunter, Peggy Warrick, Holly Mellas, Linda Smith, Heather Heady, Cathy and John Von Riesen and Wylie Smith, traveled to other venues around Morgan County as well the same day, including for spectators at Eben Ezer in Brush and at the Life Fellowship Church in Fort Morgan.
"We are not professional musicians," noted troupe member

The American Tapestry group performed â The Blue and the Grayâ ? in Brush last week at East Morgan County Library and other places. ( Picasa )

Wylie Smith, one of several familiar faces on hand to the delight of local audience members. "This is simply something we just do for the love of putting on a show." Smith, who served as a junior high band and choir teacher from 1978 to 1982 in Brush, was just one entertainer with local ties. "American Tapestry" organizer and director Cathy von Riesen also served as a music instructor in Brush for 16 years beginning in 1977. Along with husband John Von Riesen, Cathy helped bring together the "American Tapestry" ensemble group of actors and singers based centrally in Fort Collins.
Among the tuneful voices that echoed through the venue was Brush's own Heather Heady, a 1993 graduate and daughter of Brush residents Teresa and Pat Stover, who beamed with pride upon hearing the talented and beautiful voice that emanated from their child. Heather performed a finale solo during the groups rendition of "Amazing Grace" that had the entire audience clinging to each note and her booming vocals stood out during a number that had her singing the sweet sounds of freedom during a portion of the act that recalled the plight of slaves during the Civil War.
In the style of representative theatre, the first act of the play entitled, "The

American Tapestry performer John Von Reisen played the role of Abraham Lincoln in â The Blue and the Gray.â ? ( Picasa )

Blue and the Gray" began with the arrival of three soldiers who set the mood with songs in a capella such as "Bonnie Blue Flag" and "Yellow Rose of Texas" with the ensemble joining in for renditions of "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Camp Town Ladies," "To Arms in Dixie" and "America the Beautiful." According to lines uttered in the second half of the performance, which was more theater-based and included musical accompaniment, "A soldier's best weapon against boredom was music." Songs such as "Jimmy-Crack-Corn" and "Oh Susanna" set a more energetic mood before the actors created scenes from first-hand accounts of letters written during the Civil War, detailing the life as a soldier and the plight of slaves and women who'd begun shipping off

Actor Mark Carlson played a Confederate soldier weary of the death and fighting in the Civil War during American Tapestryâ s performance of â The Blue and the Gray.â ?