At Whom You Know, we love those most whom we loved first, and that is an indirect quote from the founding father Thomas Jefferson. Peachy's first big break in life was getting into Miss Porter's School at age 14 and her second big break in life was getting into Perilhettes. Most of you are not going to understand Perilhettes as it is a small elite singing group from boarding school, but what you should know is that Classic City Strings is headed by the head of Perilhettes and you simply cannot get any better than that musically so if you are anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line you'd better book these girls if you want great sound at your next event. And obviously wear Hunter Dixon when you do it! Do we even need to tell you?!
Now the Perilhettes have their own You Tube channel apparently though we must admit we are a bit out of the loop these days:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Perilhettes
Basically in a nutshell, in around the 1940's 12 girls were chosen each year at Miss Porter's School to sing a capella in a group hand-picked by the prior year by audition. Each is chosen by a rose-tapping ceremony and often in a class of around 70 half the class tries out and of course only 12 make it. If you are a Perilhette you have the school standing at their feet at sit-down dinner clapping "We Want The Perilhettes" for a long time until you (as a group) finally acquiesce. You want to be a Perilhette even if you can't sing...
When Peachy made Perilhettes it was a big deal that they did a tape in the days before cd's. And yes, the guy from Killarney did think Peachy was 26 last weekend so keep laughing. In any event, the head of Classic City Strings, Jennifer Stewart Norris, was the head of Perilhettes the year before Peachy got in...and if Peachy did not get in you should know we would still be writing about Classic City Strings because Jenn is that fabulous and this about her, not Peachy. We are proud to say we've known her for over 20 years and Jenn is the second from the right:
Classic City Strings, a highly sought-after string quartet from Athens, GA, plays 50-60 events per year in Athens, Atlanta, and the Lake Oconee area. Available for live performances, as well as studio recordings, Classic City Strings brings a wealth of musical knowledge, experience, depth and sensitivity to every engagement. They are just peachy and not just because they are in Georgia.
Classical music is the focus of the quartet, and they were hired to record the string parts for the 2009 nation-wide PBS rebrand, masterminded by NYC's own Expansion Team (www.expansionteam.org.)
Also recently featured on the new Randall Bramblett Band DVD, as well as Shawn Mullins's new CD, Light You Up, these girls can also rock with the best.
Whom You Know Highly Recommends Classic City Strings.
Jennifer Stewart Norris was not only the head of Perilhettes but she is the premier musician of the South today and you would be lucky to include her in your next musical engagement!
Oh and one last point, it's not who you know, it's Whom You Know, and Jenn Stewart also was a Reader at Miss Porter's and still x years later she is catching even Peachy's grammatical errors! No one is perfect! You can be confident that today at Classic City Strings musical notes are given the absolute same attention to detail....
Photo courtesy of Grace Long Photography
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Eunice Kang, DMA, native of Raleigh, NC, has lived in Athens for seven years. As a student of Professor David Starkweather at UGA, she performed as principal cellist of the UGA Symphony, as well as the Athens Symphony Orchestra.
Prior to completing her doctorate in cello performance at UGA in May 2003, she attended Indiana University and the University of Akron. She has participated in numerous summer music festivals, including Aspen, Manchester, and the Opera in the Ozarks.
Dr. Kang currently serves as orchestra director for Clarke Middle School and Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia. She enjoys trail running, gigging and teaching cello lessons in the Athens area.
Alison Stanford Mueller, MMEd, a certified Suzuki Violin Instructor, is the master teacher and director at Suzuki Strings of Athens. Also a former orchestra teacher for students in Grade 5 at eight different elementary schools in the Athens Clarke County School District, Mrs. Mueller's teaching experience is extensive. Mrs. Mueller holds a degree in Violin Performance and a Teacher Certification from the University of Georgia.
Mrs. Mueller is a member of the Augusta Symphony Orchestra and frequently plays with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Guilder Trio and various Ensembles throughout Georgia and the Carolinas.
When she is not busy teaching and performing, Mrs. Mueller enjoys spending time with her husband Todd, dog Cody and cat Isabel, and caring for her new baby daughter.
Jennifer Stewart Norris, MMEd, a native Athenian, has played the violin since the age of six. Mrs. Norris is the former master teacher for the University of Georgia School of Music ASTA String Project, as well as the former orchestra director for Clarke Central High School and Clarke Middle School. Mrs. Norris’s public school teaching career began in Gwinnett County Georgia at Collins Hill High School and Duluth Middle School, while her private teaching career began as a UGA School of Music student, employed by the UGA Pre-College Music Program (now known as the UGA Community Music School.)
Mrs. Norris holds both bachelor and master’s degrees in music education from the University of Georgia. While a University student, Mrs. Norris was selected to perform for world-famous violinist, Pinchas Zuckerman, and she played regularly with the UGA Symphony Orchestra, including a two-week concert tour throughout Italy in the summer of 1997. Prior to college, she studied at Miss Porter’s School for girls in Farmington, Connecticut, Athens Academy, and Athens Christian School.
Jennifer enjoys international travel, amateur photography, singing, song writing, playing guitar, knitting, and chasing after two young children. She currently owns and manages Classic City Strings, LLC, teaches private violin lessons, and works part time for her husband, Eric W. Norris, attorney at law.
Karolyn Marie Troupe is woman of many trades. A biochemist by day, she moonlights as a violist/vocalist/flutist in her orchestral pop rock band, Venice is Sinking. Like many other Athens musicians, she plays regularly with different local acts such as Packway Handle Band and Lera Lynn. She has also played with the Baylor University Orchestra, Cat Power, Perpetual Groove, Dancer vs. Politician and many others. Karolyn has played viola for 12 years in both the classical and rock worlds and is known to be very adaptable. She brings a uniqueness of spirit to everything she encounters and is excited about being the newest member of Classic City Strings. When she isn't busy with her music or being a mad scientist, Karolyn enjoys running, real estate investing and spending time with her friends and loved ones.
