Ava Art Group to Present Free Community Concert 

Local musicians will present a free concert of music for three cellos on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at the Ava United Methodist Church at 1:30 p.m.  The program is presented by the Ava Art Group, an extension of the Springfield Art Museum.  The musical selections will range from classical works to folk songs.  

The ensemble, Tres Celli, is comprised of Karen Crouch, Brandy Taylor and Jean Koenig, who started playing together over three years ago and formed the ensemble.  

Karen is a former member of the Southern Ozarks Community Orchestra (SOCO) and Mountain Symphony.  She is also an on-call player for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. She teaches intermediate and advanced cello students. 

Brandy is the principal cellist for SOCO and a part-time member of the Mountain Home Symphony.  She is also an adult assistant to the Southern Ozarks Youth Orchestra, a growing program founded in 2014 by Danyal Sallee of Ava and based in Willow Springs.  The Youth Orchestra draws young people from a wide area including Mountain Home, Ark.; West Plains, Willow Springs, Cabool, Mountain Grove and Ava.  Thirty five youth currently participate.  Brandy has a cello studio and offers lessons. 

Jean is a prior member of SOCO and the Alla Brio Trio.  She teaches cello for the Ozark String Project, an afterschool program for violin, viola and cello founded by Barbara Deegan in 2008. 

Ava Art Group urges everyone to attend and enjoy the special musical program.