Song of the St. Lawrence by Gretchen Koehler & Barb Heller
Rock Island Light House, Rock Island, NY (Koehler photo)
An Homage to the People of the St. Lawrence River Lowlands
In June 2020, the Flynn Family Foundation of Thousand Island Park, Wellesley Island, NY, commissioned The Orchestra of Northern New York to create a musical tribute in memory of Clifford and Margaret (“Peg”) Kavanaugh, beloved figures from Syracuse and Thousand Island Park. They were the parents of Mrs. Geraldine E. Flynn of Poquoson, VA, who cherishes fond memories of her formative years in Thousand Island Park.
“By Ash and Tar and Grenadier,
through river fog and dark of night,
St. Lawrence is my charioteer,
and Wolfe Isle is my guiding light.”
Clifford and Margaret Kavanaugh
Geraldine Flynn (daughter of Clifford and Margaret Kavanaugh) surrounded by Maestro Kenneth Andrews, guitarist/composer Barb Heller, fiddler/composer Gretchen Koehler and family at the premiere.
“The night breeze o’er the lowland sings
of laughter and of water;
Though flesh departs, our souls remain
Saint Lawrence sons and daughter.”
Maestro Kenneth Andrews, conductor of The Orchestra of Northern New York (ONNY), reached out to singer-songwriter Barb Heller and me about this special project, and we were thrilled to be involved. Alongside Kathy DelGudice, ONNY’s Executive Director, and Ken, we conducted a phone interview with Mrs. Geri Flynn to explore her experiences on the St. Lawrence River and her vision for the piece. Following our conversation, Barb delved into maps and the rich history of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, crafting the lyrics and melody. Meanwhile, I began to ponder how best to translate Mrs. Flynn’s cherished memories into fiddle tunes.
Over several weeks, sketches jotted on a whiteboard evolved into melodies as Barb and I collaborated, masked and physically distanced, on my back porch.
Barb and I met several times to discuss the concept for the piece. We developed a form and integrated our melodies. I then transcribed the arrangement into a rough score, including some string parts I had arranged. The piece was ready to be handed over to our orchestrator, Keith Ziemba. Keith, a longtime resident of Russell, NY who now resides in California, is a retired music teacher from Edwards-Knox Central School. He is also an active trumpet performer and an accomplished composer and arranger.
“Pick up the fiddle; rosin up the bow
sons of France and Ireland,
Let’s all dance! Heel and toe!
Heel and toe! Heet and toe!
Through the night ‘til morning.”
ZOOM meetings with Keith Ziemba, Gretchen Koehler, Barb Heller, Ken Andrews.
“From Eel Bay to Trois Riviere;
by Comfort Point and Chippewa,
all mortals and their children share
this heartbeat of the Iroquois.”
The pandemic presented numerous non-musical challenges for this piece. We faced questions such as: How many instruments could fit on a stage while maintaining physical distance? Should we compose for a full orchestra or a smaller ensemble? Distance recommendations were constantly changing throughout the writing process. Ken Andrews spent weeks plotting out the orchestra’s spacing in his backyard, using stakes to represent each musician and calculate the required space. Ultimately, we assembled a full orchestra of 55 musicians. To accommodate spacing requirements, we opted to place an additional stage in front of the orchestra rather than having everyone perform on the main stage together.
I speak for both Barb and myself when I say that this was an amazing and humbling experience that we will forever cherish.
~Gretchen
