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Angel’s Wings makes heavenly music
By LINDA M. LINONIS
SALEM
Video
The musicians of Angel’s Wings are a match made in heaven, though they connected through mutual friends on Earth.
Harpist Allison Miller of Lisbon and flutist Connie Price of Salem create ethereal music together. The music of Angel’s Wings “speaks to the soul because it is so expressive,” Price said.
The duo recently performed at Salem Public Library, 821 E. State St. About 25 people attended the program in the adult reading room.
Teresa Rhodes, marketing and outreach coordinator, said the library is offering musical programs on the third Sunday of the month through early spring. Check the website at www.salem.lib.oh.us for performances.
Miller and Price both have musical backgrounds. Price graduated from Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music and has played in various musical venues including musical theater.
Miller began piano lessons when she was 3 and continued to play that instrument for years. Her interest in the harp began when her sister, Sairey Miller, got one. “I never took lessons; I’m self-taught,” Miller said.
She attended workshops at Ohio Scottish Arts School and pursued postgraduate studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland. She earned the title of National Scottish Harp Champion of America after winning the 2012 National Scottish Harp Competition. Her sister had the title in 2008. Miller is treasurer of the Scottish Harp Society in America.
Price said the name Angel’s Wings seemed like a natural because the instruments are sometimes associated with angels. “The flute and harp make such beautiful sounds together,” Price said. “They fit well together, and the sound is ethereal. People just love it.”
Angel’s Wings performed during the Christmas season at Southern Park Mall in Boardman. “People were frazzled with shopping,” Price said, adding that many told the duo the “music was calming.”
For some 20 years, Price has played the flute. She also plays the violin, fiddle and tin whistle.
Miller has played the full-size lever harp for about 16 years. “The sound is so relaxing, and the music so beautiful,” she said. “I love to share the sound with people.”
Miller, a physical therapist, said playing the harp helps her de-stress from the demands of her career.
Angel’s Wings formed in 2008. The women noted their music is a good fit for weddings, special events, church services, arts-and-crafts festivals and tea houses. They also have played for the Salem Historical Society and for Welsh organizations celebrating St. David’s Day.
Miller said their repertoire is traditional Welsh and Irish music, historical Scottish music, some classical and some from the British Isles.
Her favorite is Scottish music because it has great melodies. “There’s subtle syncopation that sounds great,” she said. Miller also has taken traditional bagpipe music and arranged it for the harp.
When people hear Angel’s Wings play, Miller hopes “they take away an appreciation of live music.”
Angels’ Wings will perform April 3 in the Sauce and Songs series at St. Patrick Church, 1420 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown. For details, call the church office at 330-743-1109.
Contact Angel’s Wings through www.hiredhandsmusic.com, the website of Allison and Sairey Miller.