BY GAVIN SMITH
A bride walking down the aisle without the accompaniment of music is unimaginable; yet, imagine how special a moment it would be if the soon-to-be-newlyweds personally knew the performers of the ceremonial music. On August 9, 2014, this was the case at Latin teacher Kevin Ferry’s wedding.
Ferry, in hopes of bridging the relationship between teacher and student, asked MaryBeth Hoagland Khamis, the director of Mariemont’s orchestra, to provide a quartet for the ceremony.
(Photo by Le).
Four dedicated students signed up for the rare gig. Nicholas Huber, Sierra Smith, and Donna Le carried the harmonies and melodies in the violin section, whilst Caleb Middlebrook provided an undertone on his cello.
“We had two or three three-hour rehearsals. We learned ‘Adagio and Allegro’ by Benedetto Marcello, ‘Wedding Song’ by Susan H. Day, ‘Rondeau’ by Mouret-Leidig, ‘Winter’ by Vivaldi, ‘Jesu, Joy of a Man’s Desiring’ by Bach, ‘Ave Maria’ by Bach/Gounod; and a few hymns: ‘Let Us Be Bread’ (during gift exchange), ‘Taste and See’ (during communion), and ‘Faith, Hope, and Love’ (during the union candle),” says Middlebrook. With reserve, he added, “I also played two solos. ‘Sarabande’ and ‘Arioso’.”
The greatest difficulty of the wedding was not music, but the stress of playing for one of their teachers.
“It was a little nerve-wracking because everyone knows and respects Ferry at Mariemont, so if we had messed up his wedding somehow, many people, including my sister, who attended the wedding, would have been extremely angry,” states Huber, the novice wedding performer of the group.
“Everything went perfectly planned and it was, without a doubt, one of the best events I have ever played,” says Smith regarding the experience as a whole.
Though Ferry did not shed a tear, the entire scenario was so beautiful, Ferry says, “I choked up and had to translate the Latin on the walls of church to distract myself.”
Ferry was both surprised and appreciative of the students’ musical talents.
“The whole performance blew me away. I am amazed that people in high school can play so professionally.”
