Not a seat was left in the house Saturday night as the city turned out for New Carlisle Church of the Brethren’s Music on Main Street—the second of a six-part free music series. The church’s Associate Pastor, Vicki Ullery, said the monthly series is intended to be “a gift to the community.”
Ullery said she and Pastor Andrew Wright discussed bringing a fee concert series to town three years ago, and have since discovered it to be a much-appreciated event. Each month, the church hosts local musicians to bring the community together for an evening of live music to break the winter doldrums.
“We tell them we don’t have a budget,” Ullery said earnestly. The performers in the Music on Main Street are paid only in donations collected the night of the show. “This isn’t a money-maker by any means…it’s a way to bring the community together so they can enjoy music.”
Members of Tecumseh’s respective choirs performed Saturday night to the standing-room only crowd. The Women’s and Men’s Choruses delivered a range of gospel, folk, and foreign language songs. The Young Harmony Barbershop Quartet, as well as a mixed chorus also performed.
Music is near to Ullery’s heart, and church members considered the Music on Main Street series to be incredibly important to her. A Professor of Music at Wright State University, Ullery also teaches at Northridge Schools in Dayton and is an active member of the Dayton Philharmonic Concert Band, where she plays clarinet. She said that she and Pastor Wright have been supporting music at New Carlisle Church of the Brethren for 20 years. The church also serves as a recording studio for local band Mojo Brass.
The Wright State Double Reed Ensemble is set to play March 7, with local band Branscombs scheduled for April 4. The Kettering Banjo Society will play May 2, with the Ohio Valley British Brass Band culminating the series with an outside performance on June 6.
Ullery said she’s proud to be a part of the series, for it exposes the city to different genres of music while acting as a gathering place. “The fellowship and the connection…it’s truly a community event to enjoy each other’s gifts of music.”
