For the past couple of years, the First Universalist Church of New Madison has held an Autumn Harvest Concert with proceeds going to some worthy charity. Last year was Red Cross & the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund and the year before was Habitat for Humanity. This year they raised funds for Hospice. They had a wonderful mix of musicians, all of whom donated their time and talents for the cause.

We started off with a soprano who sang three songs, including a piece by Puccini (no, McGann fans, not Un Bel Di). She had a lovely voice – and what I found especially neat is that she’s a music therapist. She works for this Hospice organization in that capacity. I didn’t even know there was such a career, but I think it’s neat that there is.

The next treat was a Ragtime Quartet. We had a flute/piccolo, clarinets (alto & bass), oboe and trombone. Not what I normally associate with a ragtime quartet. They did several pieces by Scott Joplin, finishing up on his classic Maple Leaf Rag. The music was excellent and it drove home the point that I need some ragtime in my music collection. (Thank you Rhapsody for having a nice assortment of ragtime!)

From the sublime to the ridiculous, we finished with the Simple Gifts Duo (the top half of a quartet). They sang a couple of classics, but brought the house down with their “Sea Shanty.” Bemoaning the lack of playtime for sea shanties, they sang (with accompanying guitar) one sea shanty they assured us we would know. One that used to be played even up to the 1970s. As soon as the music started, the audience started laughing. Then they began to see The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island. Heh heh. They then sang a couple of other lovely pieces to finish the concert up.

It was a fun time and the president of the First Universalist Church advertised for the church. She said that any church that has a concert where Puccini, ragtime and Gilligan’s Island appear must be a very open church. Hee!